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the australian farmer
The importance of trace mineral injections
Find out why trace mineral injections can be so important to herd health, plus the remarkable results from the largest trace element study to date.
calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to nega- tively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vita- min B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks- Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 dem- onstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to gen- erate a compelling data set to demonstrate how ef- fective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research com- pany” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min dem-
Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, re- production, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual in- take and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, adminis- tered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mat- ing showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is some- times referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, de- mand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in co- balt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at
onstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Out- comes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demon- strated it is highly suited as an alterna- tive treatment to the reference product.
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Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16
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