Iodine

Iodine is required by the cow to produce the thyroid hormone, thyroxine T4, which acts
as a general
metabolic stimulator for all body processes. Iodine deficiency thus leads to a lack of
thyroxine, and
normal body functions simply proceed more slowly. For example:
_ Milk production and growth rates may be retarded.
_ Reproductive activity is suppressed, leading to failure to show oestrus and poor
conception rates.
_ Prolonged or ‘lazy’ calvings may lead to an increase in stillborn calves, retained
placenta and
endometritis.
_ Calves born may be more susceptible to scour, pneumonia and other infections.
As with many other trace element deficiencies, some herds seem to exist with a low
iodine status and to have few health problems, while others respond dramatically to
supplementation. Probably the best-known sign of iodine deficiency is the ‘stillbirth and
perinatal weak calf’ syndrome, which in some herds can produce up to a 30% stillbirth
rate. The thyroid gland, situated around the trachea adjacent to the larynx ,works hard
to compensate for iodine deficiency, and this often leads to an increase in the size of
the gland, a condition known as goiter. The diagnosis of iodine deficiency is confirmed
by blood sampling the adults and dissecting out and weighing the thyroid gland from
stillborn calves. Whole blood iodine is the best indicator of iodine status, but the test is
expensive and so sensitive that you have to stop iodine teat disinfection for at least four
days before sampling. However, measurements of thyroxine T4 can give misleading
results, because factors other than iodine status can alter blood levels. For example,
thyroxine levels are low in late pregnant and immediately post-partum cows, high in
concentrate fed animals and they fall with increasing environmental temperatures. The
normal thyroid weight (the combined weight of both thyroids) for a calf is 15 g,
sometimes expressed as 0.0375% of bodyweight. If the thyroid of a stillborn calf weighs
over 25 g, deficiency should be strongly suspected. Milk iodine is another excellent
indicator of iodine status. Iodine deficiency may be primary, when soil or plants are
deficient in the element, or it may be secondary, as a consequence of feeding a
goitrogenous diet. Examples of the latter include kale, turnips and white clover
containing thioglycosides and thiocyanates, which inhibit the uptake of iodine by the
thyroid, and rapeseed meal and raw soya bean which contain thiourea and thiouracil,
both of which are competitive inhibitors of thyroxine synthesis. All of these foods prevent
thyroxine production and should only be fed in moderate amounts. For example, kale
intakes of greater than 20 kg/day fed for long periods have been shown to affect fertility.
Some varieties of rape are now being grown which have a much lower gossypol content
and hence a reduced goitrogenic effect and a less bitter taste. Almost all pastures
contain inadequate iodine for pregnant and lactating cows and therefore if they are on
grazing or forage alone, additional supplementation will be required. Clovers may
contain even less iodine, some being, as low as 0.05 mg/kg DM, compared with the
animal’s maintenance requirement of 0.2 mg/kg DM. Iodine deficiency is particularly
common in Ireland, where grazing constitutes a large part of the diet and where many
herds are supplemented with 60 mg iodine per cow per day. Compound dairy
concentrates should always contain ample iodine, and in many cases, this may
eliminate the need for additional supplementation.
Iodine is not stored very well in the body and so a regular daily intake is required: if the
supplement is removed from a deficient herd, blood iodine levels may start to fall in as
little as seven to ten days. Supplementation is often added to the drinking water or it
may be sprayed onto other feeds (for example, use 40 g of potassium iodide in 1 litre of
water and give 2.0 ml per cow/day, i.e. 60 mg iodine cow/day). For dry cows some
people recommend that approximately 10 ml of iodine solution is painted in a 15 cm
long strip over the flanks every one or two weeks. The cow licks this off during her
natural grooming
processes. Do not supplement to excess as this could lead to excessive levels in milk,
with human health implications. Milk is a major source of iodine for man. As the daily
human requirement is around 50–150 micrograms/day and this is contained in only 300
ml of average milk (containing 350 micrograms/ litre), care should be taken not to over-
supplement.