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The topic of nutrition is never far from a farmer’s mind. As all Irish livestock farmers know, maintaining the

optimum trace element status in cattle and sheep can mean the difference between a highly productive, healthy animal and an underperforming animal with health issues ranging from infertility to poor thrive and increased disease incidences. The net result is reduced profi t for the farmer.

Let’s look at the issue of fertility fi rst, which is a key con-cern for dairy, beef and sheep farmers alike. On Irish dairy farms, for example, poor fertil-ity is still the biggest cause of involuntary culling. According to Teagasc, this will be the main limiting factor to expansion in the coming years.

Furthermore, it is estimated that reducing the empty rate from 15% to 10% will result in an increase of 1c/litre in net margin for the average dairy herd, equivalent to €3,000 additional profi t per annum for the average herd.1 In addition, in Britain, EBLEX calculations show that running empty beef cows represents a cost to the enterprise of €4.07/cow per day in feed and lost income from calf growth. Facing such sobering numbers, it is to be expected that farmers make the issue of ongoing fertility a priority. While poor fertility is an issue with multi-factorial causes, nutrition is a critical element in this equation and remains a key discussion point between farmers and vets.

So, what can be done? For decades, there have been numerous trace element sup-plements to choose from and it can be diffi cult to differentiate between the various options. Are all boluses the same? Can the marketing claims be substantiated? To shed some light on this issue, Peter Bone, Technical Services Manager in Nutrition for Bimeda, talks about the unique and revolu-tionary soluble glass copper bolus range from Bimeda.

Peter, tell us a bit about the bolus range.Our Cosecure boluses contain rumen-available copper,

selenium and cobalt. Our CoseIcure boluses contain the same trace elements, but with additional iodine, which is ideal in areas of iodine defi ciency. They supply the trace elements to ruminants at a controlled and constant rate for up to six months in cattle and up to eight months in sheep.

What are the boluses used for? What benefi ts can the farmer expect to see?Through a controlled and constant delivery of key trace elements, the boluses address trace ele-ment defi ciencies and their use is associated with signifi cantly improved fertility, productivity, thrive and a healthy immune system. The boluses give quan-tifi able amounts of the required trace elements to each animal, regardless of their feed intake. By giving Cosecure boluses, each animal will receive the required amount of copper, selenium and cobalt for up to six months in cows and eight months in sheep. In areas of iodine defi ciency, we recom-mend CoseIcure boluses, which also supplement iodine.

What are these trace elements required for?Copper is essential for fertility and thrive. Enzymes in the blood which are required for ongoing fertility, growth and productivity, require copper to function. A good form of copper is especially needed in Ireland, where much of the country has high soil-molybdenum levels.

Selenium defi ciency is a signifi cant problem in some areas. Selenium protects against White Muscle Disease, strengthens the immune system and is important for fertility, as well as for helping cows to pass the placenta after

calving.Cobalt is

essential for the optimum

performance of vitamin B12, which is vital for energy utilisa-

tion and thrive. The body

A revolution in nutrition

Peter Bone, Bimeda Techni-cal Services Manager for Nutrition

has no capacity to store cobalt. Cosecure and CoseIcure boluses are ideal, as they provide a continuous supply of cobalt for up to six months.

CoseIcure boluses also supplement iodine. Iodine defi ciency is a signifi cant issue in certain areas of Ireland and can result in poor growth rates, reduced milk yield and retained placenta.

Peter, when it comes to boluses, aren’t they all pretty much the same? What makes the Cosecure and CoseIcure boluses different?It’s a common misconception that all boluses are the same, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Our boluses are a premium quality offering, made from a unique and revo-lutionary soluble glass, which sits in the reticulo-rumen of the animal and delivers trace ele-ments at a controlled and con-stant rate for up to six months in cattle and lambs, and up to eight months in sheep. They leave no residues.

Unlike some other nutritional supplements, the Cosecure and CoseIcure boluses supply rumen-available elements.

The copper in our boluses is in the form of ionic copper, which is active in the same pH range as the rumen. This means that the minerals are highly available to the animals in the rumen.

As the rumen is the animal’s fi rst stomach, supplying trace elements here ensures that trace element defi ciencies and issues are addressed at the start of the digestive system. Some boluses supply copper in the form of copper oxide. Copper oxide is active at much lower pH levels and cannot be active in the high pH of the rumen.

You mentioned that the boluses have been shown to

improve fertility and thrive. Is there any evidence to back this up? Yes, lots. For example, our Cosecure cattle boluses were shown to signifi cantly improve fertility in a trial involving the University of Leeds Farm. The cattle involved had previously suffered from low concep-tion rates and anoestrus and some were showing poor coat colour and bald, ‘spectacles’ eyes. Cattle bolused with Cosecure had signifi cantly fewer inseminations and had a signifi cantly shorter calv-ing interval than non-bolused animals. The report concluded that, ‘poor conception rates in dairy cattle resulting from high molybdenum intakes can be counteracted by a slow-release copper, cobalt and selenium glass bolus’.2

What about the sheep and lamb boluses?We have seen great results with our sheep and lamb boluses too. For example, the Cosecure lamb boluses have proved extremely effective in helping lambs to gain weight. In an in-dependent trial, Cosecure lamb boluses were shown to be ‘best in class’ for weight gain and profi t, when compared with a range of other supplements, in-cluding two drenches, a bolus, an injection and a control.3

In my experience, once a farmer or vet has started to use our boluses, they never look back. The return on investment is so obvious in terms of im-proved performance, that they become an essential part of farmers’ nutritional strategies.

Any other advantages; for example, in Irish herds suffering from high molybdenum?Yes, our boluses are also the only boluses designed to both prevent and treat a disease called thiomolybdate toxicity (TMT). This disease is present

in high-molybdenum soil areas and is often misdiagnosed as copper defi ciency as it results in the same symptoms as copper defi ciency, (such as gingering coat/poor fl eece qual-ity, balding eyes, poor fertility), but is not caused by a lack of dietary copper. Cows with TMT will show normal blood copper levels, despite showing the obvious symptoms mentioned above.

TMT is caused when mo-lybdenum and sulphur from the animal’s diet bind in the rumen to form thiomolybdate, which then binds with copper in the rumen. If there isn’t enough copper available in the rumen, thiomolybdate moves into the bloodstream, where it binds with copper-dependent enzymes which are required for fertility and productivity. When this happens, TMT occurs and fertility, productivity and thrive are impaired.

How do I know if my animals have copper defi ciency or TMT and does it matter?Your vet will be able to assist with the diagnosis, through organising blood analysis at the University of Nottingham Labs. For many farmers with animals experiencing TMT, the fi rst clue might be that despite supplementation of copper leading to an improvement in the clinical symptoms, such as poor fl eece/coat colour and quality, animals continue to underperform in terms of fertility, thrive and productivity. This suggests that the copper supplied has addressed the clinical symptoms, but as it was not rumen-available ionic copper, it was not active in the rumen and could not prevent thiomolybdate toxicity.

Regardless of whether your animals have copper defi ciency or TMT, the Cosecure and CoseIcure boluses supplement the copper required to address both of these conditions.

Are other boluses effective against TMT?Only the Cosecure and CoseI-cure boluses are designed to treat and prevent TMT. They supply sacrifi cial ionic copper, which is active at the same high pH range as the rumen. This means that the ionic bolus copper is released in the rumen and binds with the thiomo-lybdate there. Thiomolybdate therefore does not need to en-ter the bloodstream in search of further copper and TMT is prevented. Some boluses contain copper oxide, which is active at a low pH, and which cannot become active until they reach the abomasum.

So, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know whether your animals are suffering from copper defi ciency or TMT? The Cosecure and CoseIcure boluses can address both problems?Yes, that’s correct. What’s more, they are the only bo-luses which are able to do so. Furthermore, the boluses also help address other mineral defi ciencies through the supply of selenium, cobalt and iodine.

Any fi nal comments?I would just remind farmers that fertility, immunity, thrive and productivity are complex issues with many causes and it is important to always consult a vet before using any boluses. For more information on the bolus range, contact your vet.

Not happy with your nutritional supplements for cattle and sheep? Are you missing a trick?

six months in cattle and up to

used for? What benefi ts

boluses address trace ele- has no capacity to

For details, contact your local vet. You can visit

bimeda.ie, telsol.co.uk or call Bimeda on 1850 52 52 53

The dissolution of a CoseIcure soluble glass bolus, over a number of months.

Sources1 Dairy cow fertility: Reproduc-

tive performance for effi cient pasture-based systems, Interna-tional Conference

2 The effect of Cosecure on the conception rate and trace element status of dairy cattle, AM Mackenzie, MM Moeini and SB Telfer

3 Trial by Alnorthumbria Veteri-nary Group, 2011, data on fi le