Garlic Mineral

[kato]

Last year our community pasture used minerals with garlic added in the pasture. The theory was that it helped keep flies off. At the end of the year, our manager told us that it seemed to him that it helped with foot rot too.

So this year, we used it in our own pastures. One of the pastures we send cows to was cleared for a hydro line a few years ago, and they just basically cut out the bush. This left a lot of small sticks and stems poking out of the ground, which means this pasture is horrible for foot problems.

We seem to have found the same result as the community pasture. We have had at least ten head limping up there, who have all gotten over it without being treated. Three of them had swollen pus oozing feet, so it wasn't just bruising on those. I'm thinking that since garlic is a natural antibacterial, perhaps that's contributed.

Has anyone else used this mineral and seen this happen?

[dluther]

Glad to see some action on this page , I guess things are good in the cattle business I have no complaints but feel sorry for the ranchers in south west sask, no grass and water is getting short also. I understand they are going to try and get help from the Goverments and so they should but it will be a BIG BATTLE GOOD LUCK BOYS.

[grassfarmer]

Don't get enough lame cattle to give any kind of result but we used it for a couple of years and saw little, if any, reduction in the fly load which was what we bought it for. Put insecticide eartags in the cows this year as an experiment and there are certainly less flies - but I think that's more to do with the drier year.

[WiltonRanch]

This garlic thing I think is a bit of a fad. Like to see some actual peer reviewed papers that prove it reduces fly load. Anecdotal info is fine but not proven. I was in the racehorse business in my younger days and lots of this bs crap and fads. Bee pollen, apple cider vinegar, magnetic blankets, witch doctors, miracle crap to make your horses run for days. Though not bad stuff by any means it didn’t do much. Guess it’s all your perception and how skewed it is by how much you want it to work.

[smcgrath76]

There has been work done by SK Ag, and I know Lakeland College has a joint project proposed to look at this properly. Initial results do show some promise.

[WiltonRanch]

There has been work done by SK Ag, and I know Lakeland College has a joint project proposed to look at this properly. Initial results do show some promise.

Good to know someone is doing some real research.