your questions answered

• Vitalise is a pelletised calcium-based supplement for dairy cows, providing a highly effective way to feed calcium, magnesium, trace elements and more.
• Vitalise was developed as an alternative to dusting lime flour and MagOxide. Vitalise improves efficiency with in-shed feeding and flow-through augers. As a highly bioavailable mineral supplement, Vitalise has more advantages over dusting and water-powered dosing pumps, providing a far more accurate and reliable dose with minimal wastage. There are further advantages in reduced labour and repairs and maintenance on spreading/dusting equipment. 
• Preventing cows from becoming affected by clinical and subclinical diseases has considerable benefits. Not only is there the time and cost of treating but also the lost production and potential flow-on effects for the rest of the season. It is also important to remember the significant hidden cost in subclinical milk fever (and subsequent loss of DM intake and production), which can be avoided with reliable magnesium and calcium supplementation. 
• Vitalise provides enough Ca, Mg, TEs, Ru, DCP etc. in our various products for your herd when fed at a typical feed rate of between 100-150 grams/cow/day.

• Vitalise is produced without grain, simply using ultra-fine lime pressed into a concentrated pellet using our unique pelletising process. Vitalise is made either from ultra-fine lime for calcium supplementation or, more commonly, with the addition of magnesium. 
• Phosphate (DCP), trace elements, seaweed and/or monensin (Rumenox) can also be added to help support optimal animal health and reduce the occurrence of milk fever and other metabolic problems.

• The typical feed rate is 100gm/cow/day. In some cases, clients may feed 200gm/cow/day depending on the needs of their herd. Higher-producing cows may need a higher feed rate of Vitalise.
• Seek advice from your Vet or Nutritionist to confirm your herd's calcium, magnesium and/or trace element requirements.
• The majority of our clients maintain good levels of Ca and Mg in their herds at the typical feed rate of 100gm/cow/day.

• Vitalise is produced without grain which results in a high-concentration mineral pellet that keeps costs down and allows for greater feeding flexibility. The availability of minerals has a lot to do with heat treatment and particle size. Our milling and pelletising process makes the feeding of finely ground particles easy with minimal waste, resulting in improved nutrient uptake and utilisation by the cow.

• A suitable delivery system is necessary to manage the feeding of Vitalise. Because the pellets are only approximately 2.5mm in diameter, conventional augers can crush the pellets, returning them to dust, thereby defeating the purpose of using a pellet. A core-less/centre-less auger is the preferred delivery mechanism so that the integrity of the pellet is maintained. 
• A lead feed is necessary to ensure the Vitalise pellets are consumed by the cows.
• The pellets are slightly sweet to taste (not to our human palate) to encourage intake.

Feeding equipment options may include:

• A Mineral Additive Dispenser - a small unit which has a variable speed motor that feeds the pellets up to a conduit in the main feed line.
• Various 1T silos are available which have a separate feed line into the dairy parlour, including a variable speed core-less auger.
• Existing silos can be used. However, we recommend that a “blower truck” be used to load the pellets into the silo to prevent the pellets from being crushed by a standard auger. You will need to check that your existing feed-line auger does not crush the pellets too.

If you are interested in using Vitalise, we can suggest appropriate engineering firms to contact.

• Yes, trace elements can be added to Vitalise. We have a standard dairy trace element premix that is used in Vitalise CalMag+TE. The following trace elements are included at a 100gm feed rate:
• Copper 220 mg/dose
• Zinc 400 mg/dose
• Cobalt 8 mg/dose
• Iodine 12 mg/dose
• Selenium 8 mg/dose
• With fodder beet being a popular feed option for cows on the shoulders of the season, we now regularly add phosphorus (DCP) to the Vitalise pellet at the request of our clients.
• Ionophores (monensin), toxin binders and seaweed can also be added to the pellet. Salt can be blended into the pellets post-production.
• For custom blends, a minimum order of 5T is sometimes required.
• Farmer-supplied minerals can be added to the Vitalise lime-based pellet. The compatibility of the minerals will need to be checked as they may affect the manufacturing processes. A manufacturing fee and a minimum order of 5T will apply. 

• Vitalise can be used throughout the entire milking season. The versatility of Vitalise allows you to adjust the feed rate according to the feed demand and production of your herd. Some farmers choose to stop feeding Vitalise after mating or at Christmas time, then reintroduce the pellets in the Autumn. Others continue to feed all season.

• Farmers have told us that using Vitalise has been a game-changer for them. They no longer have to spend time dusting paddocks, cleaning and fixing spreading gear and worrying about getting calcium and magnesium into the cows, particularly on rainy or windy days. 
• Depending on the severity of metabolic issues on-farm, most farmers have been able to stop dusting lime flour and MgOxide to the milking herd once Vitalise has been introduced. If you would like to talk to other local farmers in your area about their experiences using Vitalise, we can put you in touch with someone near you. 

• Depending on the severity of the metabolic issues experienced on the farm, you may need to continue to use MgCl in the water troughs. The removal of the use of MgCl in the water depends on many nutritional and stress factors on-farm.

• Vitalise pellets are designed as a mineral supplement specifically for the dairy industry. Vitalise has been supplied to our dairy clients for more than fifteen years with no adverse effects.
• It is important to make sure dose rates are not exceeded, particularly with monensin and trace mineral inclusions.

• At 100gm/cow/day, 1T of Vitalise contains 10,000 doses. A 1T bag will last approximately 10 days for 1000 cows at 100gm/cow/day or approximately 6.5 days at 150gm/cow/day.

• Vitalise should be kept dry and stored inside (preferably on pallets) so that it is protected from the weather, birds, vermin and other foreign contaminants from spoiling it. Vitalise also needs to be kept dry. If the pellets get wet, the moisture can cause them to break down.  

• Vitalise is dispatched most commonly in 1T bags, but 25kg bags are also available. We can send out bulk loads. However, a blower truck is recommended so that the pellets do not get crushed when being augured into a silo.
• We have customers from Southland to Whangarei. Vitalise is delivered either direct on-farm or to your local freight company or merchants depot. To make sure that you are getting the best product available, we send direct from our manufacturing facility.
• Clients can order from us directly. Alternatively, you can purchase through your local farm merchant.