Latest research: supporting production efficiency of modern livestock

The importance of trace minerals on livestock productivity has been acknowledged for decades. Supplementation of essential trace minerals has increased livestock productivity, growth, health, and reproductive performance. Traditional supplementation strategies rely on livestock consuming trace minerals from pasture or included in oral supplements to meet their demands.

However, variations in voluntary feed intake, pastures and supplements quality, seasonality, and antagonist reactions in the gastrointestinal tract affect the utilisation of trace minerals from dietary sources. Recently, the benefits of targeted trace mineral supplementation on immune competence and fertility using an injectable trace mineral formulation (ITM), known globally with the commercial name Multimin^®, have gained attention from farmers and the scientific community. This formulation includes up to five trace minerals: Cu, Se, Mn, Zn, and Cr.

Although ITM is a convenient method to address the mineral needs of livestock, this technology should not replace traditional oral mineral supplementation programs. Instead, ITM complements oral supplementation and is a tool to improve the mineral status of animals to support metabolically challenging events such as parturition, weaning, and breeding by enhancing the antioxidant status, immunity and fertility.