Beef Health Solutions

05/11/2024

From our friends at UNL.

A new research article in Applied Animal Science details how beef cows and calves maintained in confinement and fed brown stored forages combined with grain or grain byproducts may not be getting sufficient amounts of vitamin A.

05/11/2024

Chips from the Cowpath
A newsletter from Beef Health Solutions
November 2024
Introduction
While participating in a group discussion on trace mineral results recently, I realized that as much as I talk about trace mineral and vitamin deficiencies and their impact on health and performance, I have not consistently discussed why these deficiencies occur. It has been discussed on a case by case basis but never in a newsletter or presentation I have given. To be as complete as possible in understanding micronutrient issues, that discussion should be had.
Systems thinking teaches us that in order to understand a problem we must go below the waterline of the iceberg and ask “why?” Immunodysfunction is a common answer to the why question ithe discussion of bovine respiratory disease. While there are numerous causes of immunodysfunction, micronutrient deficiency is one of the more common, and we should understand why these deficiencies occur in order to embrace the problem.
The four more common reasons that micronutrient deficiencies occur are:
1. Interference with absorption
2. Chemical form of mineral
3. Concentration of nutrient in supplement
4. Intake
Interference with absorption
Historically, a common cause of defiencies is antagonism (tying up) of the trace mineral, primarily copper, by other minerals in the rumen. This antagonism interferes with absorption because the mineral is in a form that is unable to be absorbedd. It is well documented that high molybdenum will tie up copper in the rumen. Selenium, iron, and sulfur are also known to act as antagonists of copper in the rumen. As a general rule, excessive molybdenum is not an issue in Kansas. There are, however, areas in the state where excessive selenium is an issue. The main area of high selenium is in the northwest part of the state, but there are some pockets of it in the Flint Hills. The rest of the state is considered selenium deficient, so it behooves one to know your area. Sulfur tends to be an issue when the water source is high in sulfur and a high sulfur feed such as distillers grain is being fed.

Chemical form of the trace minerals
This cause of deficiencybecomes an issue when the trace mineral sources are in the sulfate and oxide, inorganic, forms. These sulfate and oxide forms are highly soluble in the rumen, so when the mineral is free from the inorganic radical it can readily attach to any of the antagonist minerals that might be present, rendering the desirable mineral unuseable. The hydroxyl trace minerals are also an inorganic mineral, but due to the strength of the bond between the trace mineral and the hydroxy radical they are insoluble in the rumen. Once this bond is broken in the abomasum and upper small intestine the mineral can be absorbed without the effects of antagonism. The organic trace minerals, chelates and proteinates, have an amino acid or protein attached to the mineral. Again, the bond of these molecules is strong enough that they are insoluble in the rumen and are not subject to antagonism in the rumen. The bonds are broken in the abomasum and upper small intestine and the mineral can be absorbed. There is some thought that a portion of these minerals can be absorbed in the small intestine still attached to the amino acid, further reducing the risk of antagonism. These differences in solubility and absorption are the reason that a number of trace mineral supplements are a combination of organic and inorganic forms of the minerals.

Concentration of nutrient in supplement
Most commercially available mineral supplements are a 4 ounce consumption mineral that has 1100-1200 parts per million (ppm) copper, 3000-3500 ppm zinc, and 25-27 ppm selenium. Depending on what the chemical form of the trace minerals are and what antagonists are present on the ranch, these supplements may or may not provide adequate supplementation. In my experiences, if the copper and zinc are in the sulfate or oxide forms, the product will not provide adequate trace mineral. I occasionally run into operations that, in an effort to reduce expenses, are using a mineral supplement that is designed for stocker cattle. These supplements are typically approximately 900 ppm copper and 2500 ppm zinc and, as a general rule, do not meet the needs of a cow herd.

Supplements with 25-27 ppm selenium are designed for areas that are selenium deficient. Since most areas are selenium deficient, these products are acceptable. If a ranch happens to be in an area with high soil selenium, these products can create toxicity issues.

For optimum absorption the Zn:Cu ratio should be in the range of 3-4:1.If copper is raised without adjusting the zinc level, the copper can interfere with zinc absorption.

Intake
No matter what we come up with for a mineral program, the cows must consume it. If phosphorus levels or salt levels are high, mineral consumption will drop. Other things I see are when mineral is not supplied to cows in mid to late pregnancy or mineral being cut 50/50 with salt because the cows are eating too much mineral. Consumption of mineral in mid to late pregnancy is critical for the functionality of the calf’s immune system the first 50-60 days of life.

Vitamin A
Drought conditions the past few years have caused vitamin A deficiency to become an issue. Green grass supplies adequate vitamin A, but with more brown forage than green forage in recent years, this deficiency has has been responsible for scours problems, respiratory disease, and reproductive problems. Exacerbating the issue is the fact that as vitamin A costs have risen due to supply issues, the A levels in mineral supplements have fallen. Vitamin A levels of 75,000 to 150,000 IU per pound are not uncommon, which in my opinion simply isn’t enough, especially with brown forage conditions. Buying a several month supply of mineral and storing it in a hot shed will speed up the deterioration of the A since it is a fat soluble vitamin. Research at the University of Nebraska shows that cows need to be supplied 3-5 times the daily requirement for an extended period of time in order to replenish liver stores of vitamin A.

Food for thought
A review of three years of results of summer respiratory cases that went through the veterinary diagnostic laboratory showed that a micronutrient deficiency was diagnosed in 93 percent of those cases.

Pulling it all together
The Food for Thought statement is something I picked up from Dr. Jeffery Hall while helping him teach two nutrition seminars for American Association of Bovine Practitioners. Dr. Hall was the director of the toxicology lab at Utah State for twenty plus years and has seen numerous micronutrient deficiency cases. His statement that 93 percent of summer respiratory disease cases have a micronutrient deficiency really caught my attention. Think of the value that would be created if we were able to build an immune system that functioned in an optimal manner, was able to respond better to the vaccines used, and we could eliminate 93 percent of summer respiratory disease. The created value would include more calves to wean, more pounds at weaning, reduced treatment costs, and reduced labor costs. The improved immune system function helps out at weaning also. I urge you think about building that improved immune system by fine tuning your nutrition program, your vaccination protocol, and your low stress cattle handling skills.

16/09/2024

Our church is doing a sermon series on the Beatitudes, with Sunday's sermon based on Matthew 5:9, Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. The message was "Don't be a critic, be a peacemaker. As I reflected on the message, I felt a nudge from God to once again share a newsletter that I wrote four years ago. In it I included the Paradoxical Commandments and quote several scriptures that I feel are relevant to our country today. So, in an effort to be a peacemaker rather than a critic and to try to do something good for this country, here is my July 2020 newsletter.

Chips from the Cowpath

When my Dad was extension agent in Clark County, Kansas a number of years ago, he wanted to write a newsletter but was struggling with a name for the newsletter. With the assistance of the editor of the Clark County Clipper, the name “Chips from the Cowpath” was chosen and the newsletter was a regular part of his outreach as extension agent. It lay silent during Dad’s years of ranch management in Clark County but was revived during his tenure as Agricultural Loan Officer in a bank in Smith County, Kansas. I used the name for my business newsletter while practicing in Nebraska. While the name has again laid silent for several years, I have been wanting to use it in conjunction with my business page, Beef Health Solutions. After the events of recent weeks, I feel compelled to take a different approach to this inaugural newsletter, in order to share some of my thoughts and beliefs on dealing with adversity.

Since my days as a student at Kansas State, Dad and I talked on Sunday evening. We also talked at other times during the week, but it was rare to miss a Sunday evening. As his health began failing, I made it a point to talk to him 2-3 times a week and then when COVID-19 confined Mom and Dad to assisted living, I talked to him every night. During one of the last conversations I had with him became a rather poignant discussion of how frustrated he was with the political partisanship we are experiencing as well as the riots and destruction that are occurring in this great country. His last comment to me that night was “You know, bad things happen when good people do nothing.” At the time I felt as if Dad was telling me that I should do something about this. The more I thought about it I felt as if God was speaking to me thru Dad. I reminded myself that God does not call the prepared, rather, He prepares the called. I must admit that I felt much like Moses in Exodus 3 when God spoke to Moses about leading the people of Israel out of Egypt in that I found myself saying, “Really God? That isn’t in my skill set.” But God kept talking to me. After a discussion about racism, a young veterinarian that I work with sent me a picture that stated “Daring leaders are never silent about hard things.” Then a young man who was in the clinic had two scriptures tattooed on his arm, Jeremiah 29:11,
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope,
and Philippians 4:13,
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
At that point, my thoughts were, “OK God, I get it.”
One of my all-time favorite quotes is John F. Kennedy’s quote “Ask not what you country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I have asked myself for the past two weeks since that conversation with Dad what I can do for this country. My answer is to follow my business mission philosophy, “Caring, Serving, Leading, Empowering.” I find that Micah 6:6-8 gives me my starting point.
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
I believe that verse 8 is the “meat” of this scripture and that in all we do we should seek to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God. It applies in all aspects of our lives, whether it is how we deal with people in our daily lives, how we deal with political partisanship or how we handle racial inequities. If we treat people fairly, equally, kindly, and do it with prayer and humility, I believe we can get our country back. It is my belief that the moderate left and moderate right in this county have more in common than some want us to believe. It is time for these two factions, aka the silent majority, to work together, compromise, vote, get rid of the career politicians and elect people who are committed to government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Several years ago, I came across the Paradoxical Commandments for Christians in some of my reading and found them very meaningful. A very good friend of mine typed them up for me on paper suitable for framing and I had them framed so they could hang near the door of my office in a manner that I could look at them each time I leave my office. Those commandments are:

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the
smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

As we were helping Mom and Dad sort through belongings in their home a few weeks ago, one of the items Dad put in a box to go to one of our daughters-in-law was a book entitled “Jesus Did It Anyway, The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians”. It was written by the author of the paradoxical commandments nearly thirty years after he wrote the commandments and explained his thoughts pertaining to each commandment and cited biblical examples for each.

The past few weeks have given me an opportunity to begin reading the book and I was reading it on a Sunday morning as we waited for our on-line worship service to begin. The biblical example used to illustrate paradoxical commandment number 8 was that of Job. Job lost his children, his servants, and all of his livestock in addition to enduring painful sores over his entire body. Yet, through it all he continued to praise God. He asked his wife, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Because of Job’s unwavering faith, God made him prosperous again. This earthly life is not always easy, but if we keep our faith in God, we have the promise of God’s help and the promise of eternal life. With God’s help we can rebuild this country and that starts with treating people with love, dignity and respect.

As I think about rebuilding this country and what is needed, I was reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:13-14:
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
As one digests this scripture, it is a two-part deal. IF those who are called by God’s name humble themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN He will hear them from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land. Among those wicked ways we need to turn from is that of judgement. Matthew 7:1-2 tells us:
“Judge not, that you not be judged. For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”
James 4 is a warning against worldliness and 4:11 also speaks of judgment and the law:
“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.”
(In fact, the book of James is a concise review of what is expected of us and how we should live.) Jesus speaks of judgement in John 8:7 when the crowd wants to stone the woman caught in adultery:
“Let him who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Pray, seek God, repent, love, be kind, trust, respect, caring, serving. None of us are perfect, each of us has work to do. A friend of Dad’s in Clark County is known for saying, “We can do this, let’s get to doing!” Good advice. Bad things happen when good people do nothing.

Rest In Peace Dad.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen

Dr. Dave

19/07/2024

It's all part of God's production system.

12/01/2024

From our friends at NDSU