Trace Mineral Summit on trace mineral nutrition of dairy and beef cattle during the 4th Novos Enfoques Congress

Trace minerals are essential nutrients in cattle nutrition, playing critical roles in metabolism, immunity, reproduction, and productivity of dairy and beef cattle. Speakers during the 4th Novos Enfoques Trace Mineral Summit were Dr. Philipe Moriel from the University of Florida, Davi Brito de Araujo from Trouw Nutrition and Dr. Rodrigo Marques from the Virginia Tech University. In their presentations they highlighted advances in understanding trace mineral sources for cattle, their biological function, and strategies to improve mineral supplementation in modern livestock systems.

Trace elements such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), and selenium (Se) are required in small amounts but are essential for numerous biological processes of ruminants. According to Dr. Bill Weiss, the importance of minerals and vitamins in dairy cow nutrition has long been recognized, but ongoing research continues to reveal new metabolic functions and improved supplementation strategies for dairy cattle. Trace minerals support several physiological processes in ruminants, including:

• Immune system function
• Enzyme activity
• Antioxidant defence
• Growth and development
• Reproduction
• Milk production of dairy cattle

Beef and dairy cattle require particular trace elements themselves, not specific mineral sources. Therefore, the role of mineral sources in cattle feed is simply to deliver the mineral in a form that can be absorbed by the animal.

Trace minerals in cattle diets originate from both natural and supplemented sources of trace mineral. Natural sources include:

• Forages for cattle such as grass, hay, and silage
• Grains and by-products of crops
• Milk and colostrum
• Water

However, natural feed ingredients for ruminants often contain variable or insufficient mineral concentrations, making trace mineral supplementation of cattle necessary. There are 3 different types of supplemental mineral sources for cattle that are commonly used in cattle mineral supplements.

Inorganic minerals for cattle
• Copper sulfate
• Zinc oxide
• Manganese sulfate
• Cobalt carbonate

Organic minerals for cattle
• Amino acid chelates
• Proteinates
• Glycinates

Hydroxy trace minerals for cattle
• Hydroxy copper
• Hydroxy zinc
• Hydroxy manganese

Each trace mineral source for cattle differs in stability, reactivity, and bioavailability.

Traditional inorganic mineral sources for cattle, such as sulfates can be highly reactive in cattle feed. Reactivity of a trace mineral source in feed for cattle can lead to several problems before the mineral is even absorbed by the animal.

Potential disadvantages of reactive trace mineral sources for cattle include:

• Destruction of vitamins in premixes for cattle
• Degradation of other nutrients in the TMR
• Reduced feed palatability
• Binding with antagonists in the diet
• Reduced fiber digestibility of cattle

For example, copper sulfate and zinc sulfate can interact with vitamins and other feed components, reducing nutrient stability in premixes and total mixed rations for cattle.

Trace minerals for cattle will ultimately be absorbed in their free ionic form in the intestine. Examples of absorption mechanisms for trace metal ions in ruminants include:

• Copper: absorbed via the transporter CTR1 after reduction from Cu2+ to Cu1+.
• Zinc: absorbed through specific transporters such as ZIP4 in the intestinal epithelium of cattle.

Because minerals for ruminants must be released into the digestive tract before absorption, the stability of the mineral source before reaching the absorption site is critical.

Hydroxy trace minerals, such as Selko IntelliBond products, were developed to address some limitations of traditional mineral sources for cattle. Their key characteristic is low solubility in the cattle feed matrix in combination with controlled solubility in the digestive tract of ruminants. Potential benefits of hydroxy trace minerals for ruminants before absorption include:

• Reduced reactivity in rations for dairy and beef cattle
• Improved stability of vitamins and nutrients and better premix stability
• Less interaction with antagonists in the diets for cattle

Benefits of hydroxy trace minerals for ruminants after absorption include:

• Efficient mineral delivery into the cattle GI tract
• Improved mineral status of cattle
• Potential improvements in productivity and health of dairy and beef cattle

Vitamin A stability in mineral premixes for cattle is an area of concern. Trials demonstrated that copper sulfate significantly reduced vitamin A recovery in premixes for cattle. In contrast. hydroxy copper sources for cattle preserved vitamin A stability very well. Vitamin A levels in premixes formulated with hydroxy copper sources for cattle had vitamin A levels similar to premixes without copper supplementation. These results highlight the importance of selecting trace mineral sources for cattle that minimize nutrient destruction during storage and feed processing.

As cattle production becomes more efficient and technologically advanced, cattle mineral nutrition remains a key component of cattle herd health and productivity. Proper trace mineral supplementation of cattle contributes to:

• Improved immune competence
• Better reproductive performance of cattle
• Higher milk production of dairy cows
• Enhanced growth performance of dairy youngstock and beef cattle
• Reduced disease risk

Selecting appropriate cattle trace mineral sources is therefore an important nutritional decision that influences both cattle herd performance and feed stability.

Trace mineral nutrition of dairy and beef cattle plays a fundamental role in cattle production systems. While dairy and beef cattle require only small amounts of these nutrients, the source and form of trace minerals for cattle can significantly influence their effectiveness. Advances in mineral technology, including hydroxy trace minerals, offer new opportunities to improve mineral delivery in ruminants while reducing negative interactions in feed. By improving nutrient stability and optimizing mineral absorption, modern supplementation strategies for beef and dairy cattle can support better animal health, productivity, and overall farm efficiency.