Nutrition Management

Managing Vitamins and Minerals to Increase Calf Survival

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 21:31:03 GMT

Stillbirths and weak newborn calves are among the most frustrating outcomes in both beef and dairy systems. Calving difficulty, infectious disease and congenital defects are often investigated first, yet many cases end with no clear explanation. Even when calving appears normal, losses still occur leaving veterinarians and producers searching for answers after the fact.

Dr. Bob Van Saun, professor and Extension veterinarian at Penn State University, spoke on the importance of maternal nutrition and the placental transfer of vitamins and minerals on a recent episode of AABP’s “Have You Herd?” podcast.

What often goes unnoticed is the gestational environment that shaped the fetus long before calving began. Nutritional decisions made months earlier, particularly around vitamins and trace minerals, can quietly determine whether a calf is born resilient, compromised or nonviable. Rather than being isolated calving failures, some stillbirths might represent the final outcome of inadequate fetal preparation.

“If we don’t do what we need to do nutritionally for that pregnant animal, we could have very long-term effects not only on the reproductive success of the female, but also on the offspring,” Van Saun says.

Newborn Calves Enter the World Nutritionally Limited

Newborn calves, whether beef or dairy, arrive with a biological disadvantage: milk alone cannot meet their trace mineral and vitamin needs.

“We often tout milk as nature’s perfect food, and it certainly plays a very important role in the macro minerals and in energy and protein, but one of the things that’s been well known is milk does not have significant quantities of most of the trace elements. Particularly iron, copper, selenium and even some of the vitamins aren’t in high quantities within the milk,” Van Saun says.

Trace minerals and vitamins are essential for enzyme function, immune development and antioxidant defense, yet the neonatal diet provides very little of them. As a result, the calf’s ability to survive early life depends heavily on what accumulated before birth, particularly in the fetal liver.

“With some of the work that’s been done, we’re starting to recognize that the mineral status of that newborn calf is very dependent upon how we feed mom,” Van Saun says.

In addition to gestational nutrient transfer, colostrum is an important way to get calves off on the right foot, especially with fat soluble vitamins, so long as the mother has been appropriately supplemented.

Placental Transfer of Minerals and Vitamins

Minerals and vitamins reach the fetus through the placenta, but not all nutrients behave the same way. Trace minerals appear to move primarily by facilitated diffusion, rather than active transport. Van Saun explains that as a result, fetal blood concentrations are typically much lower than maternal blood concentrations.

Once those nutrients enter fetal circulation, the liver becomes the key storage site. However, the complete mechanism by which these nutrients are stored in the liver is not well understood.

“If you remember the anatomy, the umbilical vein goes directly to the liver. It’s my thinking that the fetal liver somehow captures these minerals and stores them,” Van Saun says. “The fetal liver can concentrate these trace elements to a level that’s nearly twice what we typically see in the dam. We need to find out what influences this.”

In contrast, fat-soluble vitamins cross the placenta inefficiently, particularly later in gestation, leaving newborn calves relatively depleted at birth and heavily reliant on colostrum to establish antioxidant protection.

Maternal Mineral Deficiencies and Fetal Loss

At the Penn State diagnostics lab, mineral and vitamin analyses of fetal and stillborn calf livers have revealed a surprising number of incidences of deficiency. Despite expectations of a linear relationship between maternal mineral status and fetal mineral status, there appears to be very little direct relationship.

“When I plot maternal versus fetal concentrations, I generally see a shotgun scattergram,” Van Saun explains. “That makes me think there’s got to be some other regulatory process there.”

Across the data, several nutrients appear repeatedly in association with fetal loss and stillbirth. Van Saun highlights the following:

Copper: Essential for enzyme systems and antioxidant defense
Selenium: Critical for glutathione peroxidase activity
Zinc: Involved in cellular and immune development
Magnesium: Supports energy metabolism and neuromuscular stability
Vitamin A: Needed for epithelial development and antioxidant defense

Oxidative Stress at Birth

As umbilical blood flow is compromised during delivery, particularly during prolonged or difficult births, the fetus experiences hypoxia.

“That’s going to produce large quantities of reactive oxygen species,” Van Saun explains. “And if those aren’t squelched by the antioxidant system, that could cause the demise of the animal.”

Trace minerals and fat-soluble vitamins play central roles in the defense against reactive oxygen species. When fetal reserves are marginal, oxidative stress during calving might push a compromised fetus past a survivable threshold. This could help explain why some stillborn calves show no obvious infectious, genetic or mechanical cause at necropsy.

Why Overfeeding Isn’t Usually the Problem

A common concern is whether aggressive mineral supplementation could harm the fetus. However, even in dams with liver mineral levels that would be considered toxicosis, fetal levels remain within a narrow range.

“When maternal concentrations of liver minerals are very low, the fetal maternal ratio is quite high. In other words, the fetus is capable of extracting more mineral from a deficient mom,” Van Saun says. “But as mom’s mineral status increases to very high levels, the ratio is quite low. Suggesting that there is some mechanism in place where the fetus doesn’t over accumulate.”

Van Suan observed this most profoundly with copper, but has also seen the same pattern with zinc, iron, selenium and manganese.

“Somehow, Mother Nature has built in a protective mechanism on both ends of the spectrum ensuring even when mom is on the low side, the fetus can try to accumulate,” he says. “And then if mom is on the high side, the fetus doesn’t over-accumulate.”

Stillborn Calves as Nutritional Sentinels

Stillborn calves represent an underused opportunity to evaluate herd nutrition. Liver mineral and vitamin analysis from stillborn calves can uncover deficiencies that were not clinically apparent in the dam.

“We really need to emphasize how to make a good situation out of a bad situation,” Van Saun says. “I think if you’re having a string of stillborns, I would be wanting to take a liver sample.”

Repeated measures of low selenium, copper, or vitamin A in stillborn calves, especially in the absence of other pathology, can point back to gestational nutrition as the root cause.

What Can You Do to Get Ahead of the Problem?

Effective investigation of stillbirths and weak calves should begin with diet evaluation, but meaningful assessment of gestational nutrition requires a broader, more deliberate strategy. A clearer understanding can be gained by using multiple diagnostic entry points across the herd and across time.

Van Saun highlights several practical diagnostic opportunities:

Submitting liver samples from stillborn calves when infectious and congenital causes are not identified
Using cull cow or abattoir liver samples to establish baseline mineral status
Sampling healthy animals within defined physiologic groups, rather than sick cows in inflammatory states
Building longitudinal data rather than interpreting isolated results

Taken together, these approaches allow the shift from reactive troubleshooting to proactive risk management.

Stillbirths and weak calves are often the final expression of biological constraints established months earlier not failures limited to the calving event.

5 Factors for Transitioning Beef Cattle from Fall to Winter

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:30:36 GMT

As temperatures drop and daylight shortens, the transition from fall to winter marks one of the most critical periods in the beef production cycle. Nutritional demands rise, environmental stressors increase, and management routines shift. This seasonal shift offers a valuable opportunity to help producers fine-tune cow condition, ensure herd health heading into calving, and preempt disease risks linked to cold stress and nutritional deficits.

The fall-to-winter period is a high-value window of time for veterinary input with key interventions being body condition assessment, forage testing, mineral management, and parasite control. Fall management planning helps ensure cattle enter winter with adequate nutrition and resilience to minimize losses and support performance.

Body Condition and Energy Demands

By late fall, cows should be entering winter at an optimal body condition score of 5 to 6 for mature cows and 6 for first-calf heifers. Once cold stress sets in, regaining lost condition becomes difficult and costly. Nutrition plans are essential for this conditioning and forage analysis is required for formulation to fit requirements. Vets and producers can work together to create a management map based on an inventory of feed resources.

Energy needs increase roughly 1% for every degree Celsius below the animal’s lower critical temperature: 0°C/32°F for cattle with a winter coat and -8°C/18°F for cattle with a heavy winter coat. This is very important when cows are thin or forage quality is low. Regular monitoring of manure consistency and cow appearance can provide early warning signs of inadequate nutrition. Small interventions in November can prevent big problems in January.

Trace Minerals and Immune Function

Trace mineral status often dips as cattle transition from green pasture to stored forages. This is particularly important as immune competence is closely tied to copper, selenium and manganese levels. Inadequate trace mineral status has been linked to increased susceptibility to respiratory disease and reduced vaccine response , particularly in young animals. Fall supplementation programs should be tailored to forage tests and regional deficiencies as mineral content can vary widely by geographic region and storage method.

Injectable trace minerals and free-choice mineral mixes can be strategically timed prewinter or precalving to support both cow and fetal immune systems. This supplementation can affect both fetal development and colostrum quality .

Reproductive Success

Fall is the ideal time to evaluate herd efficiency. Pregnancy checks allow for the identification of open cows and allow producers to market cows that will not create revenue the next year. This can save significant resources and shorten the future calving interval. These checks also help with winter nutrition planning, allowing cows to be separated by gestation stage to match energy requirements.

Post-breeding bull evaluation is also important. Assessing body condition, soundness and breeding records can reveal fertility or injury issues from the season. Bulls that underperformed or lost excessive condition may need replacement or rest before the next breeding cycle. Reviewing performance and updating genetic selections based on conception data and herd goals ensures retained bulls contribute meaningfully to productivity and long-term herd improvement.

Parasite and Disease Control

The fall-to-winter transition also marks the ideal window for parasite control. Strategic deworming in the fall can reduce overwintering larval contamination, improve feed efficiency and set cattle up well for the spring. Deworming after a hard frost can help minimize recontamination of pastures. Performing this treatment during pregnancy checks on bred females is a great way to be efficient with chute time. Consider integrating fecal egg count monitoring to confirm product efficacy and any resistance trends.

Respiratory disease remains a winter concern across production stages. Cold, damp housing and poor ventilation increase the risk of bovine respiratory disease. Focus on ventilation optimization, stocking density and vaccination review — especially for feedlot entries.

Herd Health Planning

Late fall is an efficient time to update vaccination protocols and review overall herd health performance. A focused review now can reduce clinical disease and emergency calls later in winter.

For both cow-calf and feedlot operations:

Confirm vaccination timing for respiratory and reproductive pathogens
Assess biosecurity and animal movement plans before winter consolidation
Review mortality and morbidity data to identify recurring issues

The transition from fall to winter is a pivotal management window to maintaining herd performance and health. This period offers the best opportunity to assess herd efficiency, adjust preventative health protocols, and align nutrition and reproduction strategies before environmental stress intensifies. Proactive management now ensures cattle enter winter with the condition, immunity and resources needed for sustained productivity.

The Impact of Low Trace Minerals in Cattle May Be Bigger Than You Expect

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 17:12:13 GMT

Trace minerals — including copper, selenium, zinc, manganese and cobalt — are needed in vanishingly small amounts. However, when these nutrients fall even the smallest bit short of a cow’s needs, the consequences can be significant. These results can include slower growth, compromised immunity and poor reproduction.

Although trace minerals make up less than 0.01% of an animal’s body weight, they’re fundamental co-factors in enzymes, antioxidants, metabolic and immune pathways. Subclinical deficiencies may be a more extensive problem as the symptoms are not evident and there is no intervention, leading to economic losses.

David Schaeffer, professor at the University of Illinois, and his colleagues recently published work analyzing trace mineral concentrations from beef and dairy livers submitted to the California Animal Health & Food Safety Lab System laboratory between 2012 and 2021. The aim of this work was to compare any correlation patterns of copper, selenium, and manganese contents, and incidence of disease.

This work included 1,495 liver samples collected from cattle submitted for diagnostic testing. They were categorized as beef (857) or dairy (638), and further grouped by age (neonates, adolescents and adults).

The study revealed significant differences between deficiencies in beef and cattle. Overall, 73% of beef cattle and 45% of dairy cattle were found to be deficient in at least one trace mineral. In beef cattle, 46% of cattle were deficient in selenium, while 39% were deficient in manganese and 33% were deficient in copper. In dairy cattle, 10% of cattle were deficient in selenium, while 37% were deficient in manganese, and only 5% were deficient in copper.

(Adapted from Schaeffer et al., 2025)

The observed increased incidence of deficiency in beef cattle is likely expected as these animals often rely on free choice minerals, while dairy cattle are fed a total mixed ration including a mineral supplement. Interestingly, Schaeffer also reported a large portion of dairy cattle may have been oversupplemented as they observed above normal copper and selenium levels.

Associations between mineral status and disease occurred across both groups, but were most prevalent in beef cattle.

In beef cattle reported to have bovine respiratory disease (BRD), 68% of animals were deficient in copper, selenium or both minerals. The median age of these animals was 8 months, and most of them had been recently transported and co-mingled with other calves.

One thing the authors noticed was some conditions that are usually subclinical in beef cattle, for example parasites, were fatal in animals that were deficient in copper, selenium, or both.

“Now obviously we don’t know the condition score of those animals,” says co-author David Villar on a recent episode of “Have You Herd?”. “I would imagine it was pretty poor to die from internal parasites.”

As stated above, dairy cattle cases had much lower prevalences of trace mineral deficiency. Along with this, they also had lower incidences of correlation between deficiency and disease.

Of the dairy cattle with only one deficiency, the most frequent diagnoses were BRD (23%), Salmonella (14%), scours (16%), and septicemia (6%). Of all dairy cattle, 11% of those with BRD also had a copper or selenium deficiency.

It’s important to remember these are correlations between mineral status and disease, not causation.

Villar highlights what he hopes producers and veterinarians would take away from this work: “The main conclusion I would make is that beef, but not dairy, are still largely deficient in essential microminerals, copper and selenium. We need to check the herd management to see what’s happening.”

These results present an opportunity for producers and veterinarians to build preventative mineral nutrition programs, especially in beef herds where deficiencies are more prevalent. Proactive monitoring and targeted supplementation could reduce disease, mortality and economic loss in cattle herds.

Microbial Crude Protein: What It Really Means For Your Herd

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 14:07:26 GMT

When you set out feed for your herd, you’re not just filling the cow’s belly, you’re fueling the rumen microbes that make cattle unique. These microbes ferment forage and grain, multiply, and then move down the digestive tract — becoming one of the cow’s most important protein sources. This microbial crude protein (MCP) can make up more than half of the protein a cow actually uses.

MCP plays a central role in growth, reproduction and milk production. Researchers have spent decades trying to pin down exactly how much MCP cattle get from different diets. Because MCP cannot be measured directly in the digesta of cattle, estimates of MCP synthesis have traditionally relied on invasive surgical procedures to install intestinal cannulas and markers to estimate digestive flow and MCP concentration within that flow. If we could predict MCP with confidence, we’d know when cows are covered and when they need more protein supplementation. But, as a recent study shows, it’s not quite that straightforward.

Michael Galyean and Luis Tedeschi, from Texas Tech and Texas A&M, respectively, dug into a dataset including 335 observations from cattle feeding studies around the world. They tested how well existing formulas — like those in the NASEM beef cattle guidelines — and newly developed ones did at predicting MCP. By comparing predictions against actual measurements from the studies, the team was able to see which methods came closest to the truth.

What they found was that none of the formulas were perfect. Across the board, predictions were off by 25% to 30% from what cattle actually produced. That’s a big margin of error when you’re trying to dial in protein efficiency.

The surprising part was that adding more diet details to the equations didn’t really make them much better. Whether researchers included fiber, crude protein or other feed characteristics, the precision of MCP calculation didn’t improve much compared to more simple approaches.

In fact, the straightforward 10% of total daily nutrient (TDN) intake rule of thumb performed nearly as well as the more complex equations. That means that for everyday ranch use, a simple calculation may get you just as close as the math-heavy ones.

The study also found differences in how scientists measured microbial protein in the first place was a big source of variation. Some trials used different markers or sampling points to estimate digesta flow, which led to different outcomes. In other words, part of the uncertainty comes not from the cattle or their diets, but from the tools we use to measure what’s happening inside the rumen.

For producers, this research highlights both the opportunity and the challenge of feeding cattle for optimal protein use. Protein is one of the most expensive parts of the ration. Overestimating MCP can mean underfeeding and losing performance. Underestimating it can mean overspending and wasting nutrients.

What this study suggests is that while nutritionists will continue refining models, it may not be worth chasing tiny decimal points. A solid rule of thumb, like MCP being 10% of TDN intake, is probably good enough for most operations. The real focus should stay on supplementing wisely and watching how cattle respond.

So, how can you use this information on your ranch or feedlot? Start with the basics. If you know the TDN content of your feed and how much your cattle are eating, estimating MCP at 10% of that intake gives you a practical benchmark. From there, you and your nutritionist can decide if supplemental protein is needed to meet the animals’ metabolizable protein requirements.

Just as importantly, keep an eye on your cattle. Body condition, conceptions rates, calf gains and milk production are still the most reliable indicators of whether the ration is working. The research may give us tools and formulas, but the cows themselves provide the best feedback.

Galyean and Tedeschi believe more estimates of MCP using consistent techniques with greater precision — along with new scientific tools like DNA sequencing and metaproteomics of rumen microbes — will eventually help make predictions sharper. Until then, remember precision is limited and feeding decisions should be built with some wiggle room.

At the end of the day, the goal is the same as always: keep the rumen microbes happy and the cows will thrive. Feeding the microbes well is feeding the herd well, and that’s what keeps performance and profitability on track.

New Holland Launches Autonomous Baling Technology And Mobile App, Marks 50 Years Of Baler Innovation With Brand Refresh

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 20:35:53 GMT

New Holland is steering toward autonomous baling with the introduction of IntelliSense Bale Automation.

A novel technology, IntelliSense Bale Automation reportedly transforms the way customers and operators approach large square baling by delivering an automated solution for farmers.

The new system is compatible with Class 3 ISOBUS tractors — specifically, the T7 LWB, T7 HD and T8 from New Holland — and model year 2022 and model year 2023 New Holland BigBaler Large Square Balers.

Immediate integration is available now as a New Holland dealer-installed service. Starting in 2025, customers will have the opportunity to place orders for it as a factory-fit option.

“For large square baling operations, it’s an indispensable asset for their future by improving bale harvesting while helping them meet operational demands,” says Brad Littlefield, precision marketing manager, dairy and livestock segment for New Holland.

Lasering in on Windrows With Precision

(Farm Journal)

IntelliSense Bale Automation is an automated baling system that focuses on feedrate and swath guidance by combining two operator-assisted baling modes:

SmartSteer swath guidance acts as autosteering for automated navigation of the tractor and baler along the windrow.
IntelliCruise II controls tractor speed, responding to variation in material feedrate into the baler. The operator sets the number of slices per bale target and the maximum speed limit.

The cornerstone of IntelliSense Bale Automation is integrated LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensing technology, believed by New Holland to be the first application of its kind in ag. Installed on the front end of a tractor cab roof, it emits laser pulses to calculate distance based on reflections from the windrow.

The new system aims to increase four elements critical to operations and operators:

Increased baling productivity.
Improved bale quality.
Reduced fuel consumption.
Enhanced operator comfort.

“At the heart of our design is a commitment to putting operators first and creating technology that addresses their most important needs,” Littlefield says.

Rolling Through Time: 50 Years of New Holland Round Balers, Plus A New Mobile App

Beginning in 2024, New Holland is steering toward a unified brand image and global identity with the transition of its haytool styling to a striking yellow. The yellow transition begins with commercial haytools for late model year 2024, then unfolds in model year 2025 to include Pro-Belt round balers.

“This shift marks our dedication to pushing boundaries and providing farmers with tools to not only stand out in the field but also improve their efficiency and experience,” states Carlo Lambro, brand president of New Holland.

New Holland has also unveiled its latest innovation, the Bale Manager mobile app. This technology allows operators and customers to control and visualize baling data from their smart devices, including:

Store data.
Monitor baling activity.
Simplify accounts receivable.
Export data.
Search through completed jobs.

The app is available for download on the App Store and Google Play platforms (with the necessary components readily accessible from a local New Holland dealer).

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its round balers, a year-long celebration is in store. To participate, New Holland round baler owners can submit their story and a photo of their baler online or by scanning a QR code at their local New Holland dealership for a chance to win a commemorative prize pack.

Please visit your local New Holland dealer to learn more about the Round Baler 50th Anniversary contests, prizes, and enhanced warranty offers for owners.