Dwight Raber of Raber Dairy Farms noticed that their cows coming fresh were developing milk fever and ketosis. Raber had tried other products and even purchased outside forages to help eliminate the potassium problem, but nothing was working.
Dwight, who operates the 300-cow Raber Dairy Farms with his brother Bruce, learned of other herds in the Louisville, Ohio, area that were using CRYSTALYX® Brand Supplements and having success. He got some advice from Brian Beck, his nutritionist at Witmer's Feed and Grain in Louisville, and decided to give CRYSTALYX® Dry Cow™ Formula a try. In mid-October of 2003, the first CRYSTALYX® supplements were placed with the pre-fresh and post-fresh cows. Within two weeks the milk fevers were starting to decline and the ketosis cases were responding much more quickly to treatment of a propylene glycol drench.
One week before Thanksgiving they ran out of CRYSTALYX®. Milk fevers and ketosis problems started up almost immediately. So CRYSTALYX® Dry Cow™ Formula went back on duty right away and the problems decreased again. Dwight Raber is convinced.
"They give the cows what they need when they need it," he says. "All the cows have slightly different needs, and supplementing with CRYSTALYX® lets them take care of their own needs at their own pace. These supplements are a safety net."