"You are what you eat" - that is something your grandma probably used to tell you to get you to eat your vegetables.听
But it is true, and it is also true for your livestock. Plant health is animal health and most diseases and metabolic disorders are rooted in a sustained mineral deficiency or chronic excess. This is the same for plants, crops, livestock and humans. So, what does this mean for us as farmers?
In simple terms, the health of our plants is mostly determined by the combination of soil biological activity, soil structure (physics), soil carbon and our management as graziers.听
Are we overgrazing and stressing out plants? Or, are we grazing optimally to maximise photosynthesis which lifts the plants ability to plug into the power of the sun and soil biology giving access to the minerals and nutrition it needs?
A healthy unstressed plant rooted in a well aggregated biologically active soil will accumulate the trace elements, vitamins and minerals needed to sustain itself and the nutritional needs of our livestock. Yes, we will get a lot of variation in the mineral profile of our soils based on geography and parent geology, but on the whole, high biological activity within our soils regulates and by-passes most mineral shortfalls in the geology and chemical interactions with pH, because the active biology is able to scavenge the less abundant nutrition and regulate pH in the rhizosphere optimising mineral uptake from the plant.
Some minerals may always be lacking, so this is an exercise of incremental improvement, not necessarily permanently solving an issue with a specific geographical absence.听
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Soil health
When we have compacted, low organic matter and low biology soils, the supply of nutrition to our pasture plants and crops is greatly restricted. This is why soil health is key to pasture, livestock and crop performance as well as our ability to reduce inputs and see fewer incidences of pest and disease pressure.听
When we look at soil health and plant health for livestock health, we need to understand there are invisible bridges between these three layers of our farming system. We may do comprehensive soil tests which indicate certain levels of minerals in our soil, but that does not mean all of those minerals are finding their way into the plant. This is largely determined by biology and also inter-mineral interactions which can be antagonistic and protagonistic, especially when certain minerals are in excess. The next bridge is between the plant and the animal, with similar interactions between ingested minerals and rumen function/microbiology.听
To get the most complete view of our farm mineralisation we can test soil, plants and livestock for mineral levels. Remember, these tests are always a snapshot of that individual sample at that moment in time, which is why building on data each season helps with our ability to make impactful decisions. Testing for all minerals and trace elements in our livestock is the most accurate insight into the needs of the animal, but it also seems to be by far the most expensive and I have yet to find a lab that will test for the full range of minerals how we can in pasture, crops and soil. Often the most cost effective and broad insight comes from testing your pasture plants across all macro nutrients and trace elements and then discussing those results with your vet or a livestock consultant. Remember your cattle will also obtain nutrients from everything they consume, including browsing hedgerows, trees and drinking water. So, the broader your testing the more insights you get.听
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Most importantly all of this needs to be first underpinned by our livestock observations. Do we even have any cause to suspect a mineral deficiency or excess? Do we have fertility issues? Calving issues? Lameness? Growth issues? Metabolic issues? Behavioural issues? Unexplained Mortality? If the answer is no, then testing pasture for its mineral profile can be an interesting exercise to give us more insights, but it does not necessarily mean we need to change anything. Cattle genetics and epigenetics will also play a big role in their ability to get what they need from their environment.听
The target outcome from this exercise is to allow us to make more accurate mineral supplementation decisions, which could result in reduced input costs and improved livestock and business performance. Often the off-the-shelf mineral products are highly generic and often won't meet the specific needs of your livestock, as all farms have their own unique context of geology, soil health, soil biology, pasture diversity, access to browse, water minerals and livestock genetics. All of which combine to make every herd or flock a unique case with its own unique requirements. This mineral need may also vary across the season, what is abundant in spring could be absent in the autumn and vice versa. The magic really happens when you unlock the power of soil health and soil biology through grazing management, and over time your pasture plants accumulate a broader mineral profile which trickles up into your livestock health and performance. So, you really are what you eat, and so are your cows.听
