Prepare your summer essentials
Get ready now for the heat and minimise stress on your herd and your cashflow. Make sure your girls are well-fed, and protect them from facial eczema with our advice, supplements, minerals, and solutions.
Summer Dry Solutions
A hot dry summer can make it challenging to maintain quality pasture, keep cows in milk and protect your cashflow – especially when times are tight. As pasture goes from being lush and green to growing seeds, it becomes harder for cows to digest and lacks in energy. So, cows have to eat more to stay satisfied. Make a plan for your herd’s nutrition now to protect the long-term profitability of your farm business. Check out our range of summer nutrition essentials below.
Mineral Block
Cattle Mineral Block delivers convenient free access of essential minerals and energy to young cattle to support their growth and development.
Forage Max
A dehydrated molasses block designed to support growth and development of stock by increasing microbial activity in the gut so animals get more out of their feed.
Bulk Pellets range
We provide a wide range of dairy pellets to help meet the needs of lactating dairy cows and complement pasture-based systems. There are also a range of additives that can be added to these pellets. Including Zinc which can be used to aid Facial Eczema prevention. Bulk pellets provide an easy way to balance gaps in the pasture that can be created over the dry summer months.
Surviving a Dry Summer
Without the benefit of a crystal ball, it is hard to predict whether summer will see us needing to break out the sunblock or buy a new pair of gumboots. While it’s easy to prepare ourselves for both eventualities, we also need to think of the needs of the cow.
Plan now as El Niño summer heightens FE risk
The anticipated El Niño summer is expected to heighten the risk of Facial Eczema (FE). While farmers are well aware of the crucial role zinc plays in combatting FE, their investment could be wasted if it’s not delivered in the right dose, at the right time, alongside other preventative measures.
Tips for protecting cashflow & profitability
Check out the below from Dairy NZ on setting up for summer and creating a summer management plan.
Facial Eczema Solutions
Whatever farm system you are running, We have got you covered with a range of zinc-based products to help aid the prevention of facial eczema. To protect your animals, and your farm’s productivity and profitability, here are three things to keep in mind over the coming months:
Grazing residuals
When grazing to a low residual and there is a high amount of dead matter, there’s more chance of animals picking up the spores at the base of the sward.
Spore counts
Low spore counts over several days cause the same accumulated liver damage as one day with a high spore count
Temperature
Three consecutive nights with temperatures over 12ºC, and enough moisture in the pasture, accelerates spore growth.
Zincmax+
For the prevention and treatment of facial eczema in dairy cows. Zincmax+ is a peppermint flavoured blend of water soluble zinc, combined with organic copper.
Mineral Max with Trace Elements (NI)
Mineral Max® with Trace Elements is a mineral mix specifically formulated into a granule to deliver essential minerals to an animal’s diet. Contains five trace elements.
Mineral Pellets (SI)
Our Mineral Pellets are designed to deliver a consistent level of minerals to help meet the needs of lactating cows and complement pasture-based systems.
Spore count reports
Successful Zinc Supplementation
It is common knowledge the role zinc has to play when it comes to facial eczema. However, the success of zinc supplementation is one to deep dive into, to ensure that each animal is getting the right amount of zinc. The key mitigation steps are to first manage pasture quality, watch animals for signs of facial eczema and have a zinc program ready.
The cause and the cost
The true cost of facial eczema is not just the cost of feeding zinc. It is the hidden costs of not feeding the right zinc at the right time in the right amount that leads to ongoing financial implications. Setting up for a successful season starts with understanding how to effectively use zinc to mitigate facial eczema.
