I remember walking into my grandparents’ house in Bothwell, Utah as a young boy and seeing a brick-sized cell phone on the counter. When I asked about it, my grandparents explained how they could use it to make and receive phone calls while away from home. This was remarkable at the time.
Fast forward 40 years, and that same phone wouldn’t impress my children at all. Changes in technology and availability of information have led us to a wonderful, exciting, and challenging time in society that allows us to connect and stay informed like never before.
The same is true for animal husbandry and nutrition. The basics are still the same, but today’s producers have feed additives, programs, and information that can improve animal health, performance, and increase profitability at their disposal. Feed companies have invested millions of dollars into developing products to enhance forage digestibility, improve mineral absorption and bioavailability, and support animal gut health.
Every operation has different production goals and available resources. For many, adding new-to-you feed technology in your operation may be the next step to improve profitability.
Cattle Probiotics and Ionophores: Gut Health and Feed Efficiency
The term probiotic was first coined in 1908, stemming from two Greek words, “pro” and “bios,” meaning “for life.” Cattle probiotics are microorganisms designed to positively affect animal gut health, enhance intestinal tract function, and remain nonpathogenic to the host animal.
Average daily gain should increase approximately 0.10 lb/d in growing calves and feed efficiency improve 2-5% when using probiotics, with increased benefits reported when offering probiotics to cattle in high-stress situations and when offering high-concentrate finishing diets to help reduce possible digestive disorders. Use of probiotics could also be beneficial in situations where cows are grazing or consuming low-quality forages to improve animal performance.
Ionophores are a class of antibiotic-like compounds that selectively eliminate specific rumen bacteria, altering fermentation. This leads to improved feed efficiency and weight gain. Additionally, when fed, ionophores can decrease metabolic diseases such as bloat and acidosis.
Published reports investigating the effect of providing monensin in cattle diets suggest an expected 4-10% improvement in feed efficiency and 2-4% improvement in average daily gains. Previous research has reported a 0.20 lb/d improvement in average daily gains for heifers and steers provided monensin while grazing when provided 200 mg/d monensin. Another benefit of providing monensin to weaning calf diets is the reported decrease in coccidia egg counts in weaning calves compared to calves that do not receive monensin.
As a reminder, operations with horses need to use caution if you decide to feed products with monensin to cattle, as ingestion for horses can be fatal.
Cattle Minerals: Choosing Bioavailable Mineral Sources for Better Health
Inorganic, organic, and hydroxy trace minerals differ primarily in their chemical structure, stability, and bioavailability. Inorganic minerals, typically supplied as sulfates or oxides, are the least expensive forms used in cattle diets. However, they can be highly reactive in the rumen and may bind with antagonists such as sulfur, iron, or molybdenum, reducing absorption. Despite lower cost, inorganic minerals don't always provide the best return on investment for cattle health and performance.
Organic and Hydroxy Minerals: Superior Bioavailability
Organic and hydroxy minerals have been chemically bound to be less reactive in feed and more stable in the rumen and maintain bioavailability in the intestine. Both organic and hydroxy minerals provide greater bioavailability than inorganic sulfates, particularly for zinc, copper, and manganese, resulting in improved mineral status and reduced mineral excretion.
Benefits of Bioavailable Minerals for Cattle
Published studies show that replacing some inorganic minerals with organic or hydroxy sources can improve cattle performance, health, and immune function, especially during periods of stress such as weaning, receiving, breeding, or finishing. Research commonly reports 2–5% improvements in average daily gain and feed efficiency along with lower morbidity and stronger immune response in stressed calves fed more bioavailable mineral sources. Studies have also shown improved pregnancy rates, enhanced vaccine response, and lower incidence of foot problems when organic or hydroxy trace minerals are included in balanced programs.
Integrated Pest Management: Feed-Through Solutions and Natural Alternatives
Environmental pests like horn flies, house flies, and face flies reduce animal comfort, depress feed intake, and increase disease transmission. Reducing environmental stressors such as insects can help improve animal comfort and increase productivity.
Larvicides included in cattle feed are commonly used as part of integrated fly-control programs to reduce populations of horn flies, house flies, and face flies. Feed-through larvicides, such as methoprene or diflubenzuron, pass through the animal and enter the manure, where they prevent fly larvae from developing into adult flies.
Benefits of Larvicides
Research has shown that properly administered larvicides can reduce emerging fly populations by 80–95%, helping decrease irritation, stress, and blood loss associated with heavy fly pressure. Lower fly populations can improve grazing behavior, feed efficiency, and average daily gain while also reducing the spread of diseases like pinkeye.
Feeding garlic or garlic-derived products to cattle is promoted as a natural fly-control strategy. The sulfur-containing compounds from garlic are believed to alter the animal’s odor, making cattle less attractive to flies.
Research results are mixed, but several studies have shown moderate reductions in fly numbers when garlic is included consistently in mineral or feed supplements.
The data is based on fly pressure, dosage or consumption, and other environmental factors, though reported reductions are commonly between 20–50%. Unlike feeding a larvicide, feeding garlic does not have any impact on reducing the fly population, so although the animals may not be as affected by the flies, they are still present in the environment.
Using a larvicide or garlic to reduce fly load to the animals can also be improved by using these products with other management practices, such as pasture rotation, facility sanitation, or using other fly control products (tags or pour-ons) simultaneously.
Adopting Feed Technologies
Feed additives such as probiotics and ionophores, as well as organic minerals are technologies that have helped producers improve their animal performance and increase profitability. Additionally, these additives can easily be added to mineral programs or custom rations developed for an operation. Each operation is different. Some of these products may not fit your program due to certification status or other management factors.
Cattle nutritional requirements also change throughout the production cycle with increased susceptibility to disease or impaired immune function during high-stress events like weaning and post-calving. Ensuring adequate mineral status and feed efficiency is crucial to maximizing productivity. Review your feeding and supplementation programs to determine whether these feed technologies are right for your operation.
Written by Dr. Adam Summers, Animal Nutritionist, and originally published in the IFA Cooperator magazine (vol. 92, no. 3) Fall 2026.
Dr. Adam Summers joined IFA’s Feed Division in 2025 as an Animal Nutritionist. Raised in Thatcher, Utah, Dr. Summers grew up helping his family raise replacement dairy heifers and showing club lambs. He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Animal Science (with an emphasis in Ruminant Nutrition) from Utah State University. He went on to complete a Ph.D. in Animal Science at the University of Nebraska, specializing in Reproductive Physiology with research focusing on heifer development and the influence of maternal diet on offspring performance. Adam previously served as an Assistant and Associate Professor at New Mexico State University, where his research concentrated on nutrition and reproduction interactions. He has published over 70 research and extension articles and received the Western Section American Society of Animal Science Young Scientist Award in 2019. He also served on the Beef Reproduction Task Force. Before joining IFA, he was the VP of Operations and Director of Research and Development for ReproLogix. Adam and his wife have eight children and enjoy watching them participate in sports and livestock shows.