Complementary feed

Feed or medicine?

On the farm you use many products that look alike at first sight: boluses, drenches, powders, pastes. By law, though, they belong to two separate worlds. Veterinary medicines are meant to cure, relieve or prevent disease. They need a marketing authorisation, many are prescription-only, and after use there is a withdrawal period for milk and meat.

Feeds are for nutrition. They may not claim to cure or prevent a disease. In return they do not need an authorisation like a medicine and have no withdrawal period. The rules are set out in EU feed law, mainly Regulation (EC) No 767/2009.

The types of feed

• Feed materials are single raw materials such as wheat, rapeseed meal or molasses.
• Compound feeds are mixtures of several feeds.
• Complete feeds cover an animal’s entire daily requirement on their own.
• Complementary feeds add to the ration. They contain certain nutrients in a higher concentration and are not enough as a daily ration on their own.
• Mineral feeds are complementary feeds with at least 40 percent crude ash. They mainly supply macro and trace elements.

Many products in the dairy barn are complementary feeds: mineral feed, lick buckets, energy drenches and most boluses.

What is a dietetic feed?

Dietetic feeds, officially feeds for particular nutritional purposes, are a group of their own. They meet a particular nutritional need that an animal has in a certain phase or situation. The permitted purposes are set out in an EU list, Regulation (EU) 2020/354. For each purpose it lays down:

• the essential nutritional characteristics, for example a minimum calcium content
• the species or category of animal
• the recommended length of time for use
• the required information on the label

Examples for cattle are reducing the risk of milk fever, reducing the risk of ketosis and stabilising the water and electrolyte balance in calves. A dietetic feed may state this purpose because it is on the list. It is still a feed and does not treat a disease. That is why the label often advises you to seek the advice of a vet before use or before extending the period of use.

What does this mean for you on the farm?

• No withdrawal period: after a complementary or dietetic feed you can deliver the milk as normal.
• No substitute for the vet: a sick cow needs a diagnosis and, where necessary, treatment. Feeds can add to the supply, for example of energy or calcium.
• Read the label: it shows the composition, contents, dosage and, for dietetic feeds, the particular nutritional purpose.
• Stick to the dosage: trace elements such as selenium and copper are harmful in excessive amounts. The maximum levels in the daily ration are limited by law.

How boluses are classified

A bolus is a form of administration, not a legal category. There are boluses sold as complementary feed, as dietetic feed and as veterinary medicine. The label tells you which one it is. A garlic bolus sold as complementary feed, for example, has no withdrawal period.

How can you tell the category?

Every feed states its type, for example complementary feed for dairy cows or dietetic feed to reduce the risk of milk fever. It also lists the analytical constituents, such as crude protein, crude ash or calcium, and the additives with their levels. A veterinary medicine, by contrast, carries an authorisation number and the withdrawal period on the pack.

Frequently asked questions

All terms in the glossary