For immediate release

20 November 2009

Summit-Quinphos fights facial eczema with taste

Summit-Quinphos has a tasty solution to fight the onset of facial eczema in cows this summer – a new Zincmax+ product that comes with a dash of peppermint.

Treatment of facial eczema has typically involved a critical trade-off between heavy dosing with zinc sulphate via the trough to the detriment of the cow’s copper uptake.

The zinc levels applied are well in excess of a cow’s daily animal health requirement and can lead to a dramatic reduction in the cow’s copper reserves.  On top of that, this high dosage also gives the trough water a bitter taste that discourages the cows from consuming adequate water.

This could lead to production losses as well as cows not getting enough zinc aimed at the facial eczema treatment. It can also have a negative impact on calves, whose growth rates are heavily dependent on copper.

This annual challenge is overcome with Zincmax+ as it contains organic copper, which avoids interference with zinc uptake, as well as a peppermint flavour that masks the distasteful zinc,” says Jackie Aveling, Summit-Quinphos Animal Nutrition Product Manager.

“It is an easy, all-in-one solution that takes care of a herd’s zinc and copper needs while fighting facial eczema.

“Facial eczema eats into the profits of the dairy industry. If as little as 3 percent of the herd show signs of eczema then subclinical cases can affect up to 70 percent of the herd.

“Not only can milk production in these cows be depressed by up to half, but slow wasting or sudden death may also occur in cows that have shown no prior symptoms when they are put under stress, often after calving.”

As an introductory offer, Summit-Quinphos is loading Zincmax+ with extra Fly Buys points until the end of the year.

“Each half tonne of Zincmax+ sold this year will earn 200 Fly Buys points. That’s enough Zincmax+ to treat 200 cows for about 100 days.”

Zincmax+ is part of the Summit-Quinphos Optimax range of regionally specific animal nutrition products designed to work in harmony with a complete fertiliser programme, filling the trace mineral gaps that cannot be met by applying solid fertilisers.

ENDS

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