When I was growing up, my dad often told me to “work smarter, not harder.” There was always a lot to get done on the farm and I had the tendency to power through the work rather than think about an easier way.
Consequently, in my current job I like to discuss products or strategies to help a producer be more efficient. In livestock nutrition, a product that can help a producer be more efficient and “work smarter” is an ionophore.
What is an ionophore? Ionophores are feed additives that were developed to improve efficiency and prevent coccidiosis. The two most common ionophores utilized are monensin (Rumensin® and Monovet®) and lasalocid (Bovatec®). In addition to the improvement of efficiency (more gain/less feed), ionophores have a derived benefit of preventing and controlling digestive disorders such as acidosis and bloat.
How do ionophores work?
Ionophores improve feed efficiency simply by increasing the amount of energy available to the animal through selection of more efficient microorganisms in the gut. Ionophores are labeled for both grazing and feedlot cattle.
Oklahoma State Animal Science has historically led the charge in research around the use of ionophores for grazing cattle and there are benefits in a variety of grazing situations. For instance, cattle gain is improved 0.15 to 0.2 lb. by including an ionophore in a free-choice mineral.
An additional feeding strategy supported by a great deal of research recommends offering ionophores in small package supplements to grazing cattle to complement forage nutrients and ensure proper consumption. Performance varies depending on the forage base however the supplement plus ionophore lends an additional 0.2 to 0.4 lb. of daily gain. Note that cattle must have proper overall nutrition, adequate forage and have a healthy status to achieve optimum gains.
It should be emphasized that pure forms of ionophores are very potent and require extreme precision when added to blended feeds and supplements. When feeding ionophores in a pure form or within a supplement, label instructions should be strictly followed.
Monensin is toxic specifically to equine species and some monogastric animals. Ionophores can be toxic to any animal when overconsumed.
Increased gain across the board, less bloat and improved health for growing cattle of all stages — now that is what I call “working smarter.”
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