Ensuring The Best Nutrient Intake for Your Cows

As March begins, so does spring calving for many British beef and dairy farms. Even though the warmer Spring weather means the nutritional requirements in spring are lower than winter calving, it does not mean these requirements are not still critical. The purpose of this blog is to highlight the micronutrients your cows may potentially be missing out on, and how you can be sure that both your suckler cows and calves remain healthy!

Cow Health and Nutrient Intake

Cows get the nutrients they need, not specifically from grass, but the bacteria that grows on it and ferments in the cow’s stomachs. What grass does provide, however, is a food source for its meal. Cows rely on roughly the same set of vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients that humans do, except vitamin C, which a cow’s body can naturally synthesise. Grass produces cellulose, a form of carbohydrate that the bacteria help digest when going through the cow’s stomachs. This provides energy, but is it enough energy? Especially during calving, when an extra surplus of energy and nutrients is needed.

How can I ensure my cows get enough energy?

This is where mineral tubs are useful! Mineral tubs are large blocks of solid feed containing essential minerals helping supplement any nutrients your cows may be deprived of.

Mineral buckets are not standardised, there are many different types, all for different purposes and environments. For example, the ‘StowAg Cattle Elite Booster’ promotes hoof health and fertility, which is good during the time leading up to calving. Whereas StowAg’s ‘Suckler Mag Booster’ is best used after your suckler cows have given birth, helping prevent hypomagnesemia in lactating cows. Explore the full range of 'StowAg Tubs' here.

Furthermore, if you’re visiting the StowAg store, ask a member of the team about our range of Crystalyx tubs. Our team of Animal Health experts can advise on when, how and which tubs are best suited to your livestock needs. Perhaps you may need mineral intake in another form, minerals can be administered in a variety of ways, from mineral lick buckets to boluses, drenches, in-feed or dusting over silage.

Finally, a little StowAg tip for you! Try to pen cows according to calving date, this ensures minerals are given at the correct time and those calving later can have their minerals administered at a later date.

We hope this brief blog post has provided you with an extra bit of information to make you feel better and more prepared to go into calving. If you have any extra questions that are still unanswered, visit us in-store, call a member of our team or message us on social media @Stowag on Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter and @Stowag1969 on Instagram.