Nutritional wisdom: Why cows just aren’t that smart July 2025
Research Team Dr. Brenda Ralston and her research team at Lakeland College
Collaborators Alberta Veterinary Laboratories Ltd. (AVL) (Calgary, Alta.)
Funder The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Summary Genetic advances in the cattle industry have resulted in animals with rapid growth rates and increased production efficiencies requiring critical minerals and vitamins (M/V). As cow-calf producers strive to become more efficient through extended grazing programs such as fall/winter swath and bale grazing, the industry standard of providing freechoice M/V supplements to herds often results in sporadic consumption by individual animals. In most cases, this is insufficient to compensate for the decreased M/V availability in winter pasture, crop residue and stored feed. Can a neonatal supplement mitigate this deficiency?