Basics Matter
By Seth J. Epler
One of the first things Jeff Mattocks taught me at The Fertrell Company was the importance of the basics when raising livestock. If you’re experiencing problems with your animals, and are unsure what the cause is, start by looking at these basic things first.
Clean air, food, and water are essential to properly raising livestock. Just like those things are essential to you and me. And when those three basic things are ruled out as issues, then one can really start to diagnose what is occurring. If someone is still having trouble diagnosing a concern after this, then one may reach out to a veterinarian or Fertrell’s support for further help. Checking the basics first can often stop problems early and prevent them from getting worse off.
One other basic thing to focus on could be animal comfort. Sometimes just making the animals more comfortable can lead to better overall health. This is very truthful in the dairy barn where we know cow comfort can lead to better production. Heavy clean bedding is a good example of this. One trick for knowing if your bedding is adequate or not is if you drop to your knees and it hurts, you know it will hurt the cow too! A comfortable cow with good bedding will lay and chew her cud as she is meant to. However, a cow who must struggle just to lay down is already losing some of that precious time for rumination. In other words, the cow with good bedding is paying best. Same can go for the water bowls. Clean water really can go a long way in promoting animal welfare and health. If you wouldn’t drink out those bowls, neither should the animals! A clean water source is more likely to be utilized than a nasty one. And again, animals who drink all they want with no deterrent for their water intake, are paying best.
These basic things may seem somewhat silly to worry about with so much else to manage on any given operation. However, it is my experience that these things are often overlooked and can be the basis for a lot of issues farmers can run into out there. Remembering to look at the basics first can really help to troubleshoot the issues farmers often deal with. And this can help keep problems from occurring later down the road.
Clean flowing air, good quality food and water, and optimal comfort can go a long way in promoting animal health when properly supported by quality vitamin and mineral supplementation. This is where The Fertrell Company comes into play. For example, products such as Fertrell’s RC Gold 4X, Grazier’s Choice, Cattle Choice, Fly Aside Mineral, and our line of Nutri-Balancers are all developed to specifically support livestock health and wellness, keeping the animals happy and productive along the way. This can help keep the vet away in the long run as well. You take care of the basics, and Fertrell minerals and support will do their part to keep your animals thriving- Better Naturally!
