University trial proves cost-effective Beachport supplements offer more health benefits and profit potential
How does a $91 p/head return on a $4 p/head investment in livestock production sound? It’s not too good to be true, new university trial results show. Better still, what if this return were possible with less work for you, without bringing animals into the yards, with less toll on the environment?
A landmark university trial shows that Beachport Liquid Minerals supplements given to livestock via their water supply are “just as effective as an injection”. Furthermore, the study at the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus demonstrates that Beachport’s products are more cost-effective than traditional supplementation options, with the potential to put more profit back into producers’ pockets through better animal welfare and nutrition, plus higher weights at sale time.
Beachport’s supplements are easily dispensed through the drinking water supply, eliminating the need to bring livestock into the yards. Instead of being broken down in the rumen, the innovative supplements are rapidly absorbed through the small intestine into the bloodstream. Here, they work for six weeks, improving nutrition, reducing stress, and increasing productivity. The products contain 15 different amino acids, organic natural electrolytes and up to 10 trace elements including magnesium, copper, cobalt, and manganese. The amino acids, obtained from kelp and seagrass, help ruminants to use the trace elements more effectively.
Key trial findings show that compared to the Control group, the group supplemented with Beachport:
- Had a 10% higher range of weight gain
- Gained 189g p/h more within the first 51 days after 14hrs in total of long haulage (transported from Flinders Island to Adelaide with two spells, one in Tasmania and one in Melbourne.)
- Gained 174g p/h more, daily
- Fetched $95 more per/head at sale time
- Had lower cortisol levels, an indicator of stress
- Had lower pepsin levels, meaning a less likelihood of parasites being present
- Had optimum magnesium and copper levels. Magnesium is important for energy and better feed digestion, while copper maximises growth and production.
Founder of Beachport Liquid Minerals and fourth generation livestock producer, Kym Sutherland, says the trial results affirm what the Australian family company has always known and underpin why it was started.
“Animal welfare has been at the heart of this business since day one,” Kym said. “With environmental sustainability and consumer expectations now impacting livestock production like never before, it’s time for a re-think towards supplementation. Just because ‘we’ve always done it this way’, doesn’t mean it’s the way of the future.”
“Our products are so simple to use, involve less stress for animals, save you time and money and are a more sustainable alternative than other supplementation options.”
“Everyone accepts that when you give an animal an injection, it stays there. Now we have the data to back this up for Beachport’s products. This data gives producers the confidence to make that change.”
Beachport’s philosophy has always been based on being proactive, instead of reactive, when it comes to overall healthy livestock production. The company believes that if an animal has access to all the nutritional elements it needs for optimal performance and, if it can ingest them in way that makes those elements ultra effective, this is the key to maximising production, animal wellbeing and dollars at sale time.
TRIAL OVERVIEW
Led by Chandler Coker BSc (Hons) Animal Science (pictured), the trial involved taking 80 steers from Tasmania’s Flinders Island, then transporting them to the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus.
The steers were randomly divided into two groups. The Control group received no supplementation and the treatment group received Beachport’s Green Cap and Blue Cap. Before leaving Tasmania, the treatment group was dosed with Green Cap, a supplement designed to lower stress levels. All the cattle were fed pellets with no trace elements in them, plus ruffage.
Once at Roseworthy, the steers were randomly allocated into smaller groups in feedlot yards. Here they spent the first 35 days, before being moved to a feedlot.
50mls p/head of Blue Cap was dispensed in the water troughs in each yard/ paddock of the treatment group using a Beachport Empty Drum and Dispenser. In real terms, this works out at a cost of $1.19 per head (for six weeks) – just 3 cents per day.
Blood results on arrival at Roseworthy showed both groups were deficient in selenium and copper, so the university elected to give all the steers selenium and copper injections. This meant the Beachport group could not supplemented for another 65 days, resulting in there being a period where the steers had no Beachport product in their system. Despite this gap, weight gain results achieved were statistically better than the control, along with improvements in selenium, copper and magnesium with impressive profit returns at the end of the trial.
Click the link below to read the full trial summary or check out our key objectives and results.
As well as the exciting university trial findings, the environmental impact benefits of using Beachport are also worth shining a light on.
“One ton of seagrass is turned into a product that supplements 300,000 head of cattle,” Kym said.
“One IBC of Beachport can dose 20,000 head of cattle for six weeks. To dose this same number with block and lick, it would take approximately three road trains. That’s a lot of labour, a lot of fuel and a whole lot of carbon emissions.
“Our proven-to-work liquid concentrates are a no brainer for livestock producers who care about animal welfare, sustainability, and profitability. Now we have the science that says so as well.”
LINKS
Watch the Trial Summary Video
View the Trial Summary Booklet
Contact our Head Office to discuss how we can help your livestock enterprise or how best to conduct a trial on your own property to see the benefits firsthand.
Ph: (08) 8725 4668 | Email: info@beachportliquidminerals.com.au