Article on Feed Supplements by Mike Mehren Ph.D.



		Feed Supplements by Mike Mehren Ph.D. One of my pet peeves is sales people that don’t know their products. This seems to be truer of people working in retail stores that sell livestock feed and other supplies than it does for those who make a living by calling directly on ranchers. The fault probably lies with the manufacturers who don’t do an adequate job of detailing the sales force or feed retail managers that don’t inform their sales people. In many instances the person that deals directly with the customer is the lowest on the pay scale and has received little or no training. In some businesses the truck driver is the only contact with the customer. His appearance and skill are the real impression that the customer has of the company. Several years ago I attended a conference where a retail marketing expert spoke. She asked the crowd how they planned to survive in the face of retail giants like Wal-Mart? The retailers replied ‘better service and better product knowledge.’ I can certainly appreciate the service part, but wonder about the knowledge part. Let’s say that you make a trip to town looking for some salt blocks. At the store they have yellow colored blocks, red colored blocks, white colored blocks, and bright blue colored blocks. Are there actual differences in these blocks, or did the manufactures just choose the colors because they look pretty ‘cool’? Some of the questions that might be asked are: What are the differences in the blocks? How much do they cost per ton or per block? Let’s say, you’re interested in selenium; do they all have selenium, which has the most? About how much will a cow eat each day? If sheep or horses eat these blocks will there be a problem? I’ve tried this exercise and have been pretty disappointed in the response. We usually go over and try to read the label and make some sense out of it. Intake on all these blocks will be about the same, 2 oz/cow/day. Some groups of cows won’t eat any salt block, depending on their feed, block location, and time of the year. At 2-oz daily intake, a 50 lb. block would last a single cow 400 days. Most dealers have an individual block price and a ton price that is less than when they are purchased a block at a time. If a trace mineral block has over 300 ppm copper, it may be dangerous to sheep in some areas of the Northwest. Horses could eat any of the blocks mentioned without danger. The answers should be, the yellow blocks are sulfur blocks. Some people believe that sulfur helps keep ticks and flies off the cattle. There is no added selenium. The red blocks are trace mineral salt blocks. They may or may not have added selenium, depending on the manufacturer. The red color comes from red iron oxide. It imparts a pretty red color but serves no other purpose. The white blocks are plain salt or iodized salt. The amount of iodine that has been added is a nutritional level. It will have no effect on footrot or soft-tissue lump jaw. The blue blocks are salt blocks with a high level of cobalt. In some areas of the very far northwest, B.C., and Alberta they are quite popular. There is no added selenium. Another example might be different kinds of supplements. These might be compressed blocks, tubs, pellets, liquid, cubes, or granular. All these different forms of supplement may be made for the same purpose or a completely different purpose. For example. We might see a bag of granular vitamin-mineral supplement that is very concentrated. Cost of this supplement is $800/ton. The other product is a bag of granular protein supplement that is also very concentrated and it costs $330.00/ton. Why is there such a huge difference in cost? What is the cost per head per day? What animal is each designed for? What is the purpose of the supplement? How much are the animals expected to eat each day? Would they be ok for a natural beef program? Is there any medication or other feed additive that gives either product a special use? We’ll address these questions in order. The vitamin-mineral supplement is fed at 2 oz/head/day. The daily cost is $.05. The protein supplement is fed at 1 lb/head/day. The daily cost is $.165. The vitamin mineral supplement is used when your feed has enough protein, but is lacking in vitamins and minerals. The protein supplement is used when protein, vitamins, and minerals are all lacking. This typically occurs in the fall and winter when there is no green feed, and no hay is being fed. Both products are labeled for beef cattle. There may be a warning about feeding to sheep. The label would have to be checked to see that there is no medication or animal-source ingredient to disqualify the cattle from a natural beef program. Feed additives could be added to either supplement, examples include: A de-wormer An insecticide for flies A compound to improve feed efficiency and gain. A product to control coccidiosis An antibiotic to prevent or treat certain diseases We see that there is a tremendous number of variations available depending on specific needs. For the most part, you will have to lead the charge to determine which product is right for you. The low man on the totem pole or his or her boss may not have the answers you need. There should be an ‘800’ number for you or the sales person to call that connects you with a technical expert. If there isn’t, you might consider buying products from a firm that has one. Copies of Mike Mehren’s ‘Common Cents Livestock Feeding’ are sold out; and it only took 14 years! Michael J. Mehren Ph.D. is a livestock nutritionist who has decided to dig a burrow and live underground for the remainder of the hot-spell that is baking Hermiston, Oregon.		About OFGA Services Join OFGA Meetings & Events OFGA Officers OFGA Bylaws Links Contact OFGA Articles Mike Mehren, Ph.D. Feed/Export Wheat Report