Feeding Facts

Rumen ionophores are a great way to add efficiency and prevent several problems within your cow herd. Typically, when feed prices and other inputs are low, we tend to overlook some of the little things that add to the bottom line and as input costs go up, we as producers will pay more attention to the small things that minimize problems and add value through production efficiency and increased profit. Rumen ionophores are one of the easy ways to add to the bottom line. We have two common ionophores for use in beef cattle. They are lasalocid, trade named Bovatec, and monensin sodium, sold as Rumenisin. They are a bit different in many ways but tend to do similar things. Both will help control coccidia in calves and both will make cattle more energy-efficient. They both change the microbial population in the rumen in a way that helps the animal get more nutrition from every bite of feed or forage they take in.

Many research trials have shown that both products will increase average daily gain in calves and decrease mortality in situations where coccidia is a problem. Adding a rumen ionophore makes sense and adds value in many ways. This has been a very common thing among cattle producers for a long time and is an easy way to have heavier, healthier calves when market time comes around. Unless you are chasing premiums in the “all natural” cattle marketing channels, the use of one of the rumen ionophores is a proven way to add to profit.

So, the ionophores make sense in younger animals, that is not new information, but what about in the mature cow herd? Theoretically, both should add value there as well. However, only one of the two is labeled for mature cattle. Bovatec is not labeled for mature animals and can only legally be used in calves. Rumensin, on the other hand, has a mature beef cow label and is approved in lactating dairy cows as well. That fact alone should speak to the safety of the product.

Why would we want to add the cost of Rumensin to a mature cow’s diet? That is the most relevant question, especially as feed costs continue to go up. Multiple studies have shown similar results when Rumensin was added to mature cattle diets. Conception rates were generally improved by around 5% and the number of days to rebreed was cut by about a week. Since Rumensin has shown increased milk production in dairy trials, it would make sense that beef cattle would give a bit more milk each day and wean a heavier calf as well, and research has shown about a 20-pound advantage at weaning when Rumensin was fed to the mature cow herd.

How does an ionophore give these advantages? The answer to that is fairly simple. There are many kinds of bacteria in a cow’s rumen that digest forages and feeds. The ionophores make the rumen more favorable to the bacteria that are more efficient at digesting feeds and turning them into energy. So, the animal gets more energy from each bite of feed. More energy equals more production. More milk production yields a heavier calf. More energy gives a better body condition in the cow and that shortens the breeding interval and increases conception rates when all other factors are equal. The bottom line is that feeds and forages cost money and the rumen ionophores give a producer a larger return on the money that was already spent by making the cattle use their food more efficiently.

One other thing to consider is feeding in pastures with multiple species. Neither Bovatec or Rumensin is labeled for horses or other equines and both can be toxic to them; so care must be taken when horses or donkeys are being pastured with cattle or other ruminants. Oddly enough, Bovatec is labeled for sheep but not goats and Rumensin is labeled for goats but not sheep; so there is no good answer for those producers who graze sheep and goats together.

While you have to be a bit careful where you feed the ionophores, they tend to add lots of value to the bottom line of many producers throughout the state and region no matter what segment of the cattle industry is being discussed. Small calves, stocker calves and mature cattle can all benefit from the added energy received from the feed they consume when an ionophore is added to the mix.