In this Focus, we explore how Virbac’s first-of-its-kind injection Multimin™ is an effective alternative to licks & boluses, with scientifically-proven benefits to health and production (data is not comparing MM to licks & boluses). We also visit the farm at Myerscough College to hear first-hand from real farmers the benefits they have seen from using Multimin™ in both dairy and beef herds. Virbac veterinary advisor Kate Ingram explains the science in laymans terms, and Myerscough vet, Ian Cure who is the Farm Director of VetPartners and Director from LLM Farm Vets, gives his take on increased performance. Using data from clinical trials, we show the marginal gains that farmers can expect across the cattle lifecycle.
Farmers have long used trace minerals to improve cattle performance at key stress points like calving, weaning, vaccinating and to increase conception rates.
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IN THIS EDITION
In partnership with
Bringing herd health in to focus with Multimin™
How Multimin™ is combating deficiencies in beef herds
A closer look at the science behind optimising your herd health
Reducing mastitis rates in dairy herds by 23%
Elevating livestock performance with trace mineral injections
This content is for vets and livestock farmers only and is not intended for consumers.
PLEASE NOTE
INTRODUCING MULTIMIN™
Kate Ingram, Vet and Veterinary Advisor at Virbac
With Multimin™ you know that that animal will get the full dose of trace elements
Ensuring that cattle have the correct trace mineral status drives up productivity and ultimately profitability in dairy and beef systems. Here's why an injectable product is the best way to achieve this.
With many farm businesses under immense pressure right now, never before has a focus on marginal gains been more relevant. Making incremental improvements can have a significant impact on a farm’s bottom line and, for dairy and beef producers, that includes ensuring that every animal, from newborn calves to the oldest cow in the herd, is correctly covered for its trace mineral requirements. Trace minerals affect profitability because they are production elements, says Sabrina Jordan, Farm Product Manager at Virbac. “Farmers are facing lots of different costs from all angles, changes to subsidies, the animal welfare pathway, all sorts of things,’’ she says. “Trace mineral supplementation is a way of increasing marginal gains and saving costs in the long run because there are several areas where giving the extra trace minerals at certain times of the production year actually does help to increase the effectiveness of certain treatments.’’
Trace minerals are essential for livestock, but are only required in very small quantities. Vet Kate Ingram, Veterinary Advisor at Virbac, says they have a multitude of different roles throughout the body, both structurally and functionally, and are incorporated into enzymes. Their role in cattle fertility is important, for the production of steroid hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone in females, and testosterone in males. “They are really important for conception, and for the animal to actually maintain pregnancies,’’ Kate advises. “They are also needed for immune function so they are therefore important for an animal's response to a disease challenge or response to a vaccination.’’ Trace minerals have a role in mitigating the effects of oxidative stress too – they get incorporated into antioxidant enzymes and are important in mopping up free radicals.
What are trace minerals?
There have been multiple studies that have looked at the role of injectables in dairy and beef animals. In one of these, dairy cows in the US were injected at drying off, pre-calving and post-calving, to examine rates of clinical mastitis, subclinical mastitis, endometritis and stillbirths.¹ In all of these conditions, the rates were lower in cattle that had received a trace mineral injection during those periods compared to those that hadn’t. Kate says that the theory behind this is that the injectable gave their immune function a boost. “They were therefore more able to fight off these diseases at this critical point,’’ she says. Another study involved suckler beef cattle, with a trace mineral injection given pre-calving and before a fixed-time artificial insemination protocol.² A 9% higher conception rate was recorded in the cows that had received the injectable compared to those that hadn’t. Although the overall pregnancy rate was no different, a greater proportion of the group that had the trace mineral injected, calved in the first 21 days of the calving block compared to the non-supplemented group.
Reducing the risks
There have also been studies involving calves on rearing units where the disease challenge is often quite high.³ “Administering injectable trace minerals did have an effect on reducing pneumonia and scours,’’ says Kate. It is all of these factors combined, from using less antibiotics and maximising response to vaccines, to improving fertility and lowering disease rates, that contribute to marginal gains for farm businesses. “With Multimin™ you are boosting the performance of your animals by improving their resilience to disease, improving their ability to conceive, reducing the use of medicines,’’ says Kate. “Where you can reduce disease by a few percent, improve conception rates by a few percent, that’s where marginal gains can be achieved.’’
Boosting performance
Sabrina Jordan, Farm Product Manager at Virbac
“Trace minerals just have a huge, a huge array of different roles,’’ says Kate. Historically, farmers have utilised bolusing, mineral licks or in-feed supplementation to address trace mineral needs. But, with issues associated with each of these, from regurgitation and the physical challenges of bolusing to some animals failing to access minerals in licks and feed, many now see the benefits of administering trace minerals in an injectable form. Farmers in many countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have had access to the injectable, Multimin™, for a number of years. Since its launch into the UK market in 2018, it has rapidly gained a strong market share. A key advantage of this prescription-only product is that it is an injectable means of delivering copper, manganese, selenium and zinc to the animal – which makes it unique in the trace mineral marketplace in the UK. It is administered under the skin and it enters the animal’s bloodstream within eight hours, and within 24 hours it is being utilised by the liver. “With a bolus, it sits in the rumen and you can’t always be assured how much is being absorbed by the animal but with Multimin™ you know that that animal will get that dose of trace elements,’’ says Sabrina.
Trace mineral supplementation is a way of increasing marginal gains and saving costs in the long run
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HOME
BEEF
DEEPER DIVE
Machado VS, Bicalho MLS, Pereira RV, Caixeta LS, Knauer WA, Oikonomou G, Gilbert RO, Bicalho RC (2013). Effect of an injectable trace mineral supplement containing selenium,copper, zinc, and manganese on the health and production of lactating Holstein cows. Vet. J. 197:451-6 Mundell L.R, Jaeger, J.R, Waggoner, J.W, Stevenson J.S, Grieger, D.M, Pacheco L.A, Bolte, J.W, Aubel N.A, Eckerle, G.J, Macek ,M.J, Ensley, S.M, Havenga, L.J , Olson, K.C (2012) Effects of prepartum and postpartum injections of trace minerals on performance of beef cows and calves grazing native range. The Professional Animal Scientist 28, 82–88.16. Teixeira AG, Lima FS, Bicalho ML, Kussler A, Lima SF, Felippe MJ, Bicalho RC. Effect of an injectable trace mineral supplement containing selenium, copper, zinc, and manganese on immunity, health, and growth of dairy calves. J Dairy Sci. 2014 Jul;97(7):4216-26. doi: 10.3168/jds.2013-7625. Epub 2014 May 16. Erratum in: J Dairy Sci. 2014 Sep; 97(9):5922. PMID: 24835970.
Multimin solution for injection for cattle contains: Zinc (60mg), Copper (15mg), Manganese (10mg) and Selenium (5mg). Further information is available from the package leaflet, datasheet or SPC or by contacting Virbac Ltd. Woolpit Business Park, Windmill Avenue, Woolpit, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9UP. Tel: +44 (0) 1359 243243 Email enquiries@virbac.co.uk Advice on the use of this medicine or alternatives must be sought from your veterinary surgeon. Use medicines responsibly: www.noah.co.uk/responsibly
References
VIDEOS: INTRODUCTION TO Multimin™
3. What are key stress points to effectively use Multimin™?
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For more information on Multimin™, and the role of trace minerals in your herd's health, please speak to your vet.
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INTRODUCING Multimin™
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Louise Grayshon, Senior General Farm Worker at Myerscough College
The condition of the suckler cows since we’ve used Multimin™ has altered a lot, they look a lot better for it
If you keep the trace minerals topped up it means the animal’s physiology is working correctly so their digestion is working properly
Trace minerals such as copper, selenium, manganese and zinc are essential for life. Achieving optimal dairy herd performance relies on these being supplied correctly at all stages in the lifecycle, from a newborn calf to the oldest cow in the herd. For a milking cow, the transition period is the biggest stress point, a time when she has a very high demand for trace minerals to meet not only her own requirements but those of her unborn calf. However that need comes when her intakes of trace minerals are reducing because she mostly sources these from her feed yet, when heavily pregnant, a cow consumes less dry matter. High demand continues as she starts making colostrum, calves and starts lactating, says Vet Kate. “There are a lot of different processes that require trace minerals and, for a dairy cow, many of these are happening around that transition period,’’ she says. This is why trace mineral supplementation is so important, playing a vital role in immune function, cow fertility, colostrum and general production.
Correctly managing the trace mineral status of dairy animals at points of stress, including the weaning and transition periods, is critical to herd productivity and profitability. Kate Ingram, Veterinary Advisor at Virbac, gives expert advice on how dairy farms can achieve this.
After achieving major improvements in the health and performance of beef suckler cattle injected with Multimin™ after a copper and selenium deficiency was diagnosed, Myerscough College in Lancashire is now rolling it out in its year-round calving dairy herd. Louise Grayshon, a Senior General Farm Worker at the college farm, says although minerals and vitamins are incorporated in the feed of the robot-milked dairy herd, the appeal of an injectable is that the trace minerals quickly enter the animal’s system. “The condition of the suckler cows since we’ve used Multimin™ has altered a lot, they look a lot better for it,’’ she says. The land at Myerscough College is deficient in selenium and copper and before Multimin™ was introduced, boluses had been used in an attempt to address the impact this had on cattle. “We were constantly bolusing which was hard work in suckler cows because they are twice as big as us and their heads are very strong,’’ says Louise. “By using an injection we are not having to wrestle them, it is very straightforward and students can do it as well, it is safe for them and for us. “It works well with doing it in the dairy herd too because all we have to do is put them in a crush, jab them and let them go again, it is very straightforward.’’
Farmer feedback
Vet Ian Cure, of LLM Farm Vets, is the farm vet at Myerscough College. As well are making sure the trace mineral needs of adult cows is met, he says it is important to not overlook the status of youngstock either. The weaning period is a key point in their cycle when that need becomes paramount. “They are going from milk feeding to concentrates and there may be mixing or moving of groups, all of those things will stress a calf,’’ he advises. “At any time when there is a period of stress, it’s important to consider that they’ve got adequate mineral provision because it helps with immunity, health and general wellbeing.’’ Another reason for supplementing a calf is when their colostrum status is unknown because their immune function will be unknown too, Ian adds.
Deficiencies can lead to serious health issues for both cow and calf, Kate warns. Many dairy farmers now utilise an injectable, Multimin™, to deliver those key trace minerals, which are only required in minute amounts compared to major minerals. The prescription-only product, first introduced into the UK market in 2018, contains copper, selenium, manganese and zinc. It is administered under the skin in the neck and within eight hours it enters the animal’s bloodstream, within 24 hours its in the liver, allowing fast and effective distribution of these essential trace minerals.
The need for supplementation
Another big study, again in the US, involved giving dairy cows a dose of injectable trace minerals at drying off, a second dose pre-calving and a third once they were lactating². The rates of subclinical mastitis, clinical mastitis, endometritis and stillbirths were then compared to cows that hadn’t been treated. The incidence rate for each of these conditions was lower in the cows that had received the trace mineral injection. Multimin™ has an important role to play in a dairy animal’s performance from its first few days of life because it improves their response to vaccines. This is true for older animals too, says Kate. “If you can reduce disease even by a few percent, whether that be mastitis or endometritis, it will help profitability because you are not having to treat animals and then having the knock on effect of having that delay in getting them back in calf. “So, although Multimin™ isn’t a golden bullet it’s something that may well help to make those improvements across a whole group of cattle year on year, and that may well improve marginal gains.’’ There are also studies that show it has a role to play in increasing weight gain in growing cattle. “If you keep the trace minerals topped up it means the animal’s physiology is working correctly so their digestion is working properly,’’ says Kate.
Mundell L.R, Jaeger, J.R, Waggoner, J.W, Stevenson J.S, Grieger ,D.M, Pacheco L.A, Bolte, J.W, Aubel N.A, Eckerle, G.J, Macek ,M.J, Ensley, S.M, Havenga, L.J , Olson, K.C (2012) Effects of prepartum and postpartum injections of trace minerals on performance of beef cows and calves grazing native range. The Professional Animal Scientist 28, 82–88.16. Machado VS, Bicalho MLS, Pereira RV, Caixeta LS, Knauer WA, Oikonomou G, Gilbert RO, Bicalho RC (2013). Effect of an injectable trace mineral supplement containing selenium,copper, zinc, and manganese on the health and production of lactating Holstein cows. Vet. J. 197:451-6
Benefits to Youngstock
Improved performance
Multimin™ in use
Studies comparing animals that had received an injection versus those that hadn’t show a:
increase in conception rates in dams¹
9%
reduction in incidences of stillbirths²
29%
reduction in sub-clinical mastitis²
23%
There is good reason for this, says Kate. “Multimin™ has been developed to ensure these animals are able to perform at their best, making sure that they have those trace minerals on board when they need them in order to fight off infection so that there are fewer cases of fresh cow disease like mastitis and endometritis. “Trace minerals are also needed when the farmer is trying to get those cows back in calf, they’re important for making sure that the oocytes being produced are of good quality and more likely to be fertilised and implanted, and the pregnancy maintained.’’ This is particularly true with first lactation heifers, she suggests. These heifers may not have a long history of supplementation during the rearing phase and are sometimes the animals that are most difficult to get quickly back in calf. “Multimin™ can help these animals just by making sure that their immunity is as strong as it can be so that they recover from calving as quickly as possible and start cycling again,’’ Kate explains.
In association with
Increasing conception rates and immune response in dairy herds
VIDEO: DEEPER DIVE
Multimin solution for injection for cattle contains: Zinc (60mg), Copper (15mg), Manganese (10mg) and Selenium (5mg). Further information is available from the package leaflet, datasheet or SPC or by contacting Virbac Ltd. Unit 16 Woolpit Business Park, Windmill Avenue, Woolpit, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9UP. Tel: +44 (0) 1359 243243 Email enquiries@virbac.co.uk Advice on the use of this medicine or alternatives must be sought from your veterinary surgeon. Use medicines responsibly: www.noah.co.uk/responsibly
For more information on Multimin™, and the role of trace minerals in your herd's health, please speak to your vet
Essential for animal well-being, growth, and productivity, trace minerals play a pivotal role. Multimin™'s breakthrough trace mineral injection is the first of its kind. By eliminating the reliance on licks or boluses and combating inconsistent mineral supply associated with grazing, this injection offers numerous benefits as well as a fail-safe way to give the animals what they need.
Increased profitability with Multmin™
No more Bolus
Increased performance
Lower feed costs
Higher weaning weights
Tighter calving intervals
The cost of mastitis per case can be £200 - £300
Multimin can reduce clinical mastitis by 25%
Rearing calves to the point of calving represents a considerable investment for farms. Pre-weaning is a high-risk period in terms of growth checks and minimising the risk of disease is key. Ensuring adequate colostrum intake on day one is the first step on that journey - the right quantity of high quality, clean colostrum fed quickly enough after birth. Following on, good trace mineral levels helps maximise calves’ immune function through this period and allows calves to thrive.
Working to reduce the rate of disease in young calves
Boost immunity
less diarrhoea
reduction on clinical mastitis in cows
reduction on still birth
Increase in recovery after calving
higher conception rate
4 key stress points to supplement your livestock
Topping up on trace minerals, at strategic times during the production cycle, can help prevent many common diseases and maximise response to vaccines.
Increase in sperm quality and motility when supplemented with Multimin™
Copper Crucial for energy generation
Selenium Fundamental element for a ruminant's growth, fertility and assists in preventing mastitis
Zinc Important for the metabolism of carbs and protein and helps maintain skin health and contributes to the animal's immunity
Manganese Critical for metabolizing fats, carbs, and energy production
Multimin™ contains:
Orally administered trace minerals absorption rate
Like a car in need of a top up of oil to ensure optimum performance and a reduced risk of engine damage, cattle trace mineral status also requires effective management. However, even in well-supplemented animals, periods of stress can cause deficiencies and a trace mineral gap can occur, and therefore, direct application and targeting may be needed.
Due to the digestion system, oral and diet supplements do not guarantee 100% absorption, unlike an injection which can be seen in the liver as early as 24 hours after the dose is applied.
The vital trace minerals are not as readily available through feed and water
Those supplied in feed vary per animal, with stress and appetite affecting intake dramatically
Trace minerals are mainly provided through diet and oral supplementation
Post calving
Transition
Maiden Heifers
Pre-breeding
Bulls
8%
less pneumonia and otitis
7.5%
reduction in subclinical mastitis
reduction in endometritis
of cows calving in first 20 days
77.5%
1.8%
6%
25.4%
22.4%
Sabrina Jordan, Farm Product Manager at Virbac and Vet Kate Ingram at Virbac, explain how Multimin™ is absorbed by the animal and provides the security of knowing that the animal has received what they need.
What is Multimin™?
Sabrina Jordan, Farm Product Manager and Vet Kate Ingram from Virbac, explain the multiple uses of the first trace mineral injection.
VIDEO: OVERVIEW
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It’s a hell of a lot easier to just put them down the crush and then inject them
Ian Cure, of LLM Farm Vets explains how correcting trace element deficiencies by adopting a new method of supplementation has had a major impact on cow and calf health in the beef suckler herd at Myerscough college farm.
Amanda Waring is the Red Meat Lead at Myerscough College, where she manages the suckler herd, which is made up of Aberdeen Angus, Hereford-cross and British Blue-cross cattle. For her, the ease of administration of Multimin™ is a big plus. “I’m not a particularly tall person and bolusing an angry Angus can be quite a task,’’ she admits. Injectables have welfare benefits for the stock too, Amanda believes. “I like to keep a cow that is in calf with as little stress as possible and with this product (Multimin™) you can just quietly move them into the crush, give them the injection and quietly move them out again, there’s not the wrestling that needs to be done.’’ Multimin™ is delivered in small amounts – 1 millilitre (ml) per 50kg for animals less than one year old, 1ml per 75kg from one - two years old and 1ml per 100kg for animals over two years. Since addressing the trace mineral shortfall, Amanda has noticed improvements across all age groups. “They tended to thrive after they had had the injection, not only did they look much better in their coats but I felt their appetite was better, it turned them around. “They started looking happier and because they were eating they looked healthier and they were starting to finish quicker because they had their appetite back.’’ Amanda has also seen a good response from giving it to calves at weaning. “After being treated they became more settled more quickly on the diet they were on.’
Easy handling
The effectiveness of injectable trace minerals has been backed up by several major studies. One involved suckler beef cattle being given a trace mineral injection pre-calving and before a fixed-time artificial insemination protocol.¹ The findings showed an almost 10% higher conception rate in the cows that had received the injectable compared to those that hadn’t. Although the overall pregnancy rate was no different, a greater proportion of the group that had had the trace mineral injected calved in the first 21 days of the calving block compared to the non-supplemented. There have also been studies involving calves on rearing units, an environment where the disease challenge can be quite high. Vet Kate Ingram, Veterinary Advisor at Virbac, says those studies had shown that administering injectable trace minerals had reduced pneumonia and scours.². Although Multimin™ is frequently used to correct a trace mineral deficiency it is more widely used by farmers to give their animals a top-up ahead of periods of high demand, such as the transition period, weaning, disbudding and castration, or to maximise the response to vaccines as it has been shown to increase immunity³. “Those periods of high demand will depend on an individual farm and their system so I would recommend that farmers speak to their vets about when the pinch points are, when their animals experience stress or higher rates of disease,’’ says Kate. “It may be that Multimin™ can fit nicely into that system to help address those.’’
Proven success
Myerscough College in Lancashire is diligent when it comes to managing its 60-cow suckler herd so it was a mystery when animals suddenly started to get sick. Suckler cows presented with neurological signs including wobbly gait, says the farm’s Vet, Ian Cure. “They were not doing well in terms of appetence, we even lost one,’’ he recalls. Blood tests revealed they were deficient in selenium and copper despite having access to mineral licks in fields. In an attempt to restore herd health, in-calf cows and calves on the point of weaning were treated with Multimin™, a prescription-only trace mineral injection containing copper, selenium, manganese and zinc. It is administered under the skin and it enters the animal’s bloodstream within eight hours, within 24 hours it is being utilised by the liver. Ian says its long-acting effect coupled with it containing copper and selenium, the two elements the herd was deficient in, made it a good choice. “The initial problems that we saw in appetence, wobbly gait, we have had none of that since,’’ he says. “The sucklers have thrived and the calves have continued to grow.’’
Although licks are seen as an easy method of providing cattle with trace elements, Ian cautions that there is no way of knowing whether every animal has accessed these and is therefore getting what it needs. “Licks are fine for the ones that take it but if you’ve got a number of animals in a field you might not expect all of them to take the amount that they need,’’ he points out. Although boluses can work well there are shortcomings with these too, he adds. “When you put a bolus in hopefully it will stay in but it may not, boluses can be spat out and will the boluses cover what you need them to cover?’’ An injectable provides that reassurance, he suggests. “With an injectable you can get them all and you know that everything has been jabbed effectively, has had the correct amount of mineral for what they need.’’ An injectable has practical benefits too, Ian adds. “Farmers much prefer an injection, not having to wrestle with the head of an animal (when bolusing), especially big things like suckler cows. “It’s a hell of a lot easier to just put them down the crush and then inject them.’’
A reliable method
Ian Cure, LLM Farm Vets
I’m not a particularly tall person and bolusing an angry Angus can be quite a task
Amanda Waring, Red meat Lead at Myerscough College
It also sits well with the preventative approach now taken in livestock health, with every farm encouraged to reduce reliance on antibiotics as a cure. Twenty years ago, Ian estimates that around 80% of farm vet work would revolve around treatment but that has now shifted to preventing conditions occurring. “It has swung to 20% of our work being reactionary and 80% prevention,’’ he says. “It’s about vets going out on farms, identifying a problem and putting in a solution for the future, predicting and preventing problems. “At Myerscough College, we had a problem, we found the solution and now we’ve got it for the future. That’s ultimately how farms are going to improve their productivity and overall profitability.’
Mundell L.R, Jaeger, J.R, Waggoner, J.W, Stevenson J.S, Grieger ,D.M, Pacheco L.A, Bolte, J.W, Aubel N.A, Eckerle, G.J, Macek ,M.J, Ensley, S.M, Havenga, L.J , Olson, K.C (2012) Effects of prepartum and postpartum injections of trace minerals on performance of beef cows and calves grazing native range. The Professional Animal Scientist 28, 82–88.16. Teixeira AG, Lima FS, Bicalho ML, Kussler A, Lima SF, Felippe MJ, Bicalho RC. Effect of an injectable trace mineral supplement containing selenium, copper, zinc, and manganese on immunity, health, and growth of dairy calves. J Dairy Sci. 2014 Jul;97(7):4216-26. doi: 10.3168/jds.2013-7625. Epub 2014 May 16. Erratum in: J Dairy Sci. 2014 Sep;97(9):5922. PMID: 24835970. Teixeira AG, Lima FS, Bicalho ML, Kussler A, Lima SF, Felippe MJ, Bicalho RC. Effect of an injectable trace mineral supplement containing selenium, copper, zinc, and manganese on immunity, health, and growth of dairy calves. J Dairy Sci. 2014 Jul;97(7):4216-26. doi: 10.3168/jds.2013-7625. Epub 2014 May 16. Erratum in: J Dairy Sci. 2014 Sep;97(9):5922. PMID: 24835970
A preventative farming process
