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Cobalt Cognizance

Cobalt deficiency is still a problem on many New Zealand farms, according to trace element researcher Dr Neville Grace of AgResearch. Cobalt treatment can improve on-farm returns, even in marginal areas, helping wool production, reproductive performance and animal health.

An Otago agricultural consultant has recently suggested that cobalt and B12 treatments may be unnecessary. However the lambs involved in that study were obviously not cobalt-deficient and so did not respond to the supplementation, says Grace. Trace element studies on 12 farms near Gore during 1998-99 identified a cobalt deficiency that was responsive to Vitamin B12 supplementation.

At slaughter, five months after treatment with a long-acting vitamin B12 injection, the supplemented lambs were over 15 kilograms heavier than untreated lambs. Their daily growth rate was 190 grams; on one property untreated animals grew at only 82 grams a day. The serum and liver Vitamin B12 concentrations of the untreated lambs were deficient enough to compromise growth. Supplementation studies on some neighbouring properties however, showed no growth responses, suggesting properties need to be asssed individually.