Avoid excessive copper intake

Professor Weiss: The consumption of high levels of copper in many dairy cow diets in Britain is not justified.

Referring to the results of a study of 50 farms in Britain conducted in 2015, he emphasized that British farms on average consume 28 milligrams/kilogram DM of copper. This is significantly higher than his recommendation of 15 mg/kg dry matter.

He said copper is essential for boosting immunity and leads to a reduction in metritis, udder edema, and retained fetal membranes (RFM). However, if consumed in excess of the requirement, it can lead to copper accumulation in the liver and even death.

The levels consumed in Britain, besides increasing unnecessary costs, put cows at risk of fatal copper poisoning.

Choose the right source of copper

When high sulfur or molybdenum concentrations in animals become problematic, Professor Weiss recommended using organic copper sources, which are more readily available to cows than inexpensive and inorganic sources.

Also, in cases where antagonists are not a problem, mineral sources such as copper sulfate are sufficient.

However, even when molybdenum levels are above 16mg/kg DM, it only leads to the need for consuming 20-25mg/kg DM of copper – still much lower than the British average.

Water analysis information

A cow's need for sulfur in the diet is 0.2%. By increasing this amount to 0.3%, you can quickly observe problems such as reduced feed intake and milk production, along with decreased access to copper and selenium.

Professor Weiss urged farmers to "know their water analysis," as water sources can be a significant sulfur source at the farm level.

For example, if water contains 250 milligrams per liter of sulfur, this is equivalent to adding 0.1% sulfur to the diet.

Professor Weiss said: "The diet may be supplemented with 0.2% sulfur, but cows receive 0.3% sulfur. You can control this issue by increasing copper nutrition."

When water sulfur is 700 milligrams per liter, it can create more significant problems that are harder to deal with.

Use of selenium premix for dry cows

Selenium deficiency in calves leads to issues such as weakened immune systems. Therefore, it is necessary for dry cows to receive a ratio of 75:25 organic selenium: sodium selenite (mineral selenium). Organic selenium effectively transfers selenium to the udder, resulting in increased selenium levels in calf blood. In addition, in rumen microbiology, inorganic selenium plays a role in the immune system's function.

Providing vitamins A and E for expecting cows

Vitamins A and E are essential for having a good immune system and overall biological performance. They added that calves rely on their udder for vitamins A and E.

As a result, the consumption of these vitamins for expecting cows is valuable. Also, feeding diets with high levels of vitamin E in the expecting diet reduces udder edema in early lactation.

Professor Weiss recommended that in the expecting diet, vitamin E should be twice as much as the dry period and about 50% more vitamin A.

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