New Zealand Farmers face animal health challenges all year round. But using the right feed, in the right amounts, with mineral supplementation as required, enables a good Farm Manager to keep their animals in peak condition.

What are some of the common issues encountered? 

A host of animal health diseases are faced on NZ dairy farms every day. The majority of these problems have a basis in poor nutritional practices. These include, underfeeding, or simply not utilising available feeds correctly e.g. feeding incorrect ratios of feed ingredients, as well as inadequate mineral supplementation.

Poor feeding can lead to:

• Ketosis: A lack of energy in the diet causing rapid condition loss and elevated ketones in the blood.
• Acidosis: Too much energy and lack of sufficient fibre in the diet can lead to a rapid buildup of acid in the rumen. Bacteria in the rumen will die prematurely, leading to a total breakdown of rumen function.
• Lack of fibre: Poor rumen function.
• Inadequate levels, or incorrect feed practices, can lead to a deficiency of the key minerals, calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium which can elevate the occurrence of metabolic diseases.
• Incorrect or inadequate supplementation of key trace elements such as copper, zinc, cobalt, selenium, and iodine, can leave animals more prone to a wide range of diseases as well as interfering with key metabolic processes.

A good manager can avoid the majority of these issues by planning feed requirements carefully well ahead of time, while also ensuring any potential mineral deficiencies prevalent in the total feed ration are supplemented.

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