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In this episode of Regenerative Wisdom, sourced from The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine, Will Winter brings his expertise in livestock nutrition to debunk the top 10 myths and lies about livestock mineral supplements. From misconceptions about local mixes and homemade blends to the critical importance of proper supplementation for herd health and profitability, Winter delivers a wealth of practical advice and thought-provoking insights. If you're looking to optimize your livestock's nutrition and improve your ranch's bottom line, this is an episode you won't want to miss.
Top 10 Myths (& Lies) About Livestock Mineral Supplements
By Will Winter
ALBANY, Minnesota:
1) Buy Local? The one place where “buy local” doesn’t carry merit is mineral mixes from the neighborhood mill. I know this because I’ve reviewed about 1200 of the labels that people sent me. Being a formulator myself, I can not only read the printed lines, I can read between the lines. There are clear “red flags” on the label that tip me off about the quality of the products. In addition, your local source may be a retailer who bought it from someone else, requiring more margins and increasing the price.
2) Home-Made Mixes? Many of these DIY (do-it-yourself) dabbler mixes can be more dangerous than not giving supplements at all. That’s because of what’s called the “mineral wheel,” an easily downloadable chart that shows which minerals dominate, thereby diminishing the other minerals. Achieving balance in formulations is not easy. Again, I know this from having designed recipes for several decades. The typical blend is a hodge-podge of “a little bit of this, and a little bit of that “ and that is bound to be cock-eyed. All too often, people read a book or listen to an “expert” and get fixated on one thing, quite often copper, boron, phosphorus, or selenium, buying those in single amounts.Single mineral 50 pound bags preclude getting volume discounts a reputable manufacturer can get. Professional formulators buy ingredients in barrels, totes, semi-loads and even train-loads.
Secondly, I can almost guarantee that you will be coming home with Chinese ingredients. I’ve done the tracking and almost without exception, the true source is almost always China. Why? Because it’s about 1 10th the price of the good stuff, which often comes from unique laboratories in Germany. The reason we do our best to avoid Chinese ingredients is that tests prove them to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and lead as well as dirty pesticide residue.
3) Always mix salt with the minerals? No. Salt will not only rust out your pickup truck, it does the same with certain chemicals. With any storage in the bag or in the bin, it will corrode (oxidize) any good chelated minerals, and will likewise destroy the fat soluble vitamins (A, D3, E, and K). Land-grant colleges teach that since “animals are stupid and man is smart,” we need to protect them from “wasting minerals” that they don’t really need. This is, as Dr Fred Provenza has proven beyond all doubt, totally wrong. Animals know exactly what they need and they will do everything possible to correct deficiencies or other toxic situations. This is why back in the old days pregnant women might eat a handful of dirt or crave strange foods and condiments. When animals are stressed, sick, pregnant, nursing or otherwise in bad shape, they will try to rebuild their bodies by taking in additional minerals and vitamins. If the bin is loaded with salt, they can only consume so much, thus not being able to self medicate. Likewise, in super hot weather or with problematic forages, they will try to consume more salt to balance their pH and electrolytes and they want salt, just salt, not a mixture. To make this easy to achieve, just put a plywood panel across the mineral box to make it easy for them to choose.
4) DDGs add palatability and have no negative effects? More sad news. These by-products of the distilling industry (ethanol plants) are not only GMO and glyphosate saturated, they contain fungicides, antibiotics and other chemicals used to extract the alcohol. This is such a lucrative industry that approximately 80% of all livestock supplement companies are really just outlets for ethanol swill. They then spoon in just enough Chinese minerals to be able to sell it as a “mineral mix.” These products are anti-fertility, anti-production and a bad buy.
5) I’ve been giving minerals for years, I think my soil has plenty of minerals now. Dream on. The truth is, no soil anywhere has enough of everything. It never did. That’s why the bison, the elk, and other wildlife migrated. Granted you will eventually begin to see diminished consumption, that’s a good thing, but don’t try to go without an added free-choice supply option.
6) These are “dry cows,” they don’t need minerals. Oh yes they do. I’ve harped on this before, but starving your pregnant and therefore most valuable animals is one of the craziest concepts in all of livestock rearing. This is the stage of life and production when they need the best of everything.
7) My animals won’t eat these minerals, they must not need them. Repugnancy has many reasons; lack of need is not one of them. Mixes can get wet, caked and devitalized. Rain, sun or exposure ruins minerals; never put out very much and keep it dry and out of the direct sun. Another explanation comes from Dr Provenza who teaches us that animals are often “neo-phobic” meaning afraid of new things. Especially when switching minerals or brands, monitor consumption and use some sort of enticer if needed to get up to the recommended level. Common enticers are salt (only for a few days or weeks though!), wet or dry molasses, plain sugar, kelp or even the former mineral they’re used to. Whenever possible make a switch slowly, only a few percent at a time.
8) My animals gobble up this mineral! That means it’s really good! This is one of the best sales tactics used by the cheap companies. It’s especially common with the Big Ag Companies such as Purina or Cargill. All they have to do is add their own enticers from the beginning and the animals will eat it, even if the true value is very low. The cheaper the product, the more likely it is that they have added things like wheat mids, rice hulls, DDGs, molasses by-products, tons of salt, artificial flavorings or other low-quality enticers. This then lures ranchers into thinking that it is a great product.
9) Germs cause disease. Probably the most powerful conceptional change in medical and veterinary thinking in the last 100 years is the Louis Pasteur germ theory. Daily being disproven, it was even abandoned by Pasteur, who on his death bed admitted that his “terrain theory” counterpart Michael Beauchamp was right: “Beauchamp is correct. The germ is nothing, the terrain (the body) is everything, “ and then he died. The reason I mention this is that almost never do ranchers,farmers, or even vets trace diseases or parasites back to what is the true cause. The “germ” or “parasite” gets the blame and the investigation stops there. Then come the wormers, vaccines and antibiotics. It’s tremendously good for business for Big Pharma! (see number 10 below)
10) Good minerals are nice but just too expensive! I hear it all the time, and there are several versions. Either it’s “we don’t pamper our cows!,” or I want cattle with the genetics to thrive on my farm!” or even (and this is a true story with the direct quote) “My great-grand-pappy homesteaded this here ranch and he said he didn’t see no Injuns out there giving them buffalo minerals.” (My response and this was on a vet call for a very sick herd was: “So, how’s that workin’ out for ya?).
Anyway, the bottom line that I see is the exact opposite: I don’t believe anyone can afford to short change nutrition. And I mean nutrition on every level, not just protein, fiber and energy, but also every essential mineral and every essential vitamin. They aren’t called “essential” for nothing. Whether it comes out of a bag or out of the forages, it’s not optional. When all the nutritional needs are fully met, and all the other basics of natural rearing are achieved, there will never be a need for antibiotics, wormers, or vaccines, and there will be radiant health and renewed profitability. It sounds ridiculously simple, but when people call me with herd health problems, I say, in essence, let’s go to the cause behind the cause, behind the cause, behind the cause and just fix the nutrition and see what happens. In over 98% of the cases, not only do the problems go away, seemingly magically and within weeks or even days, but livestock production and ranch profits go up, up, up!
Will Winter is a retired veterinarian, a holistic herd health consultant and livestock nutritionist in Minnesota. Reach him at 612-756-1232 or will winter dvm at gmail.com
