Dr. Warren Bohnhoff, DVM

Feeding supplemental Vitamin E to late gestation dairy cows can improve herd health and productivity. More importantly, it can produce a positive return on investment. Studies have examined this high-stress period (late gestation) when cow vitamin status can plummet without additional supplementation. This can have important implications for udder health, calf performance, and various other health and reproductive issues.

In addition to the specific findings in these studies, they point out the broader implications of the need to recognize the wide differences in vitamin requirements during different times of any animals life cycle or change in environmental situations.

In a dairy study at the University of Milan, milk from Holstein cows fed 2000 IU/day of Vitamin E had significantly lower somatic cell counts (SCC). SCC readings for these cows was more than 83,000 units lower than cows fed only 1000 IU/day. Typical premiums in the midwest for lower SCC could have resulted in a 3:1 return on investment.

Late gestation is a high stress period for dairy and beef cows. In dairy cows, it has been shown that vitamin E positively affects the immune system and that increased supplementation around calving can enhance functionality of blood macrophages and neutrophils (white blood cells), reduce somatic cell counts, and decrease the incidence of retained placentaa.