AMERICAN RESEARCH

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 August 1938, Page 3

AMERICAN RESEARCH

VITAMINS AND MINERALS. LONG TIME EXPERIMENT. In a recent issue of “Farm Research” published quarterly by the New York Agricultural Experimental Station at Geneva, Dr A. C. Dahlberg, in charge of research in dairy, contributes an interesting and instructive article on vitamins and minerals in cattle feeding. The station has a long time experiment in progress to show the practical value of new discoveries. Dr Dahlberg states that about 10 years will be required to complete the experiment. Incidentally the station Jerseys are being used in the experiment, and it has affected the butterfat yield of the herd for the year, but has not adversely affected its production ability. Dr Dahlberg in his discussion says in part:' “Dairy calves often have a rough coat of hair and look unthrifty when from 3to 10 months of age. This condition is sometimes observed in the station, calves, together with the advertising claims and published research on the volue of additional vitamins A and D in the calf ration,, prompted an investigation of the value of cod-liver oil fortified with vitamin A and D concentrate. “From this study, conducted in co-' operation with Dr Maynard of the College of Agriculture at Ithaca, it was concluded in a recent publication that ‘when calves were fed rather liberal quantities of partially skimmed skimmed milk, skim-milk, all the good hay they could consume, and a good grain ration, the feeding of vitamin A and D concentrate with cod-liver oil did not increase growth during a 40week feeding trial.’ These experimental calves were well fed irrespective of the added vitamins. It is known that' different results would have been secured with less adequate calf feeds.

FEEDING PROGRAMME. “A very extensive long-time feeding trial is now in progress to determine the combined value of additional vitamins and minerals in the ration of presumably well-fed dairly calves and cows. Every other calf born in the station herd will be raised and subsequently fed as a cow according to the usual feeding standards. All other calves will be raised with the same rations except’that the grain ration will also contain fortified cod-liver oil, steamed bone meal, and kelp. All feeds except hay are being fed in weighed amounts, the calves are weighed weekly, and the cows will be weighed bi-weekly. A calf that receives the regular’ ration will receive it as a cow. A calf that receives the additional vitamins and minerals will receive them when she is a milking cow.

“When the calves have grown to become cows their milk production, breeding records, abortions, presence of mastitis, etc, will be carefully checked to learn if the claims advertised for some of these supplemental feeds are substantiated.

"It will be evident that this experiment is an endeavour to feed additional minerals and vitamins to cattle well fed on the usual farm rations to determine if such additions have any practical significance. The cod-liver oil fortified with vitamins A and D, now being used commercially, will supply vjtamins most apt to be inadequate in the regular, diet. Steamed bone meal has been shown to be one the best sources of minerals for dairy cattle, especially calcium and phosphorus which are sometimes deficient. Kelp, a seaweed, is a rich source of organic iodine and may be of value in supplying other elements. For example, calves and cattle may suffer from a lack of iron and copper in the diet when the feeds are grown on certain soils, and recent studies show that a trace of cobalt is essential also. Shortages of these minerals produce ‘salt sickness’ and ‘bush sickness.’

“The point in tfiis experiment is not to verify data on the essential need for these elements, but rather to determine if an increase in vitamins and minerals in the diet from sources extensively used today by dairymen will produce improved health or milk production during a normal life time.”