The Right Now� Mineral Solutions Guide

“Should I add salt?”

Answer: If cattle consume 3-4 ounces of Right Now� Mineral daily, they will meet their salt requirements. We suggest that you do not provide additional salt, unless cattle are over consuming mineral consistently for an extended period of time. Prior to offering salt, be certain you have evaluated mineral feeding locations and have verified that the ratio of cow numbers per feeder is appropriate.

“If I need to feed salt, should I mix it with the mineral?”

Answer: If mineral consumption is consistently excessive, salt should be provided in a separate vessel, adjacent to the mineral feeder. Providing loose salt will likely decrease mineral intake more than block salt. If, after providing salt, mineral intake continues to be excessive, salt can be mixed with the mineral, but only do this as a last resort. Once mixed with salt, Right Now� Mineral will lose much of its ability to withstand moisture without blocking. Also, if one bag of mineral is blended with one bag of salt, a cow will need to eat nearly one-half pound of the mix to obtain her daily mineral supply. If either over or under consumption occurs, ask your Right Now� Mineral consultant for recommendations.

“How much mineral should my cattle eat?”

Answer: If Right Now� Mineral is properly managed on a year-round basis, we anticipate that average intake will be between 3 and 4 ounces per head per day.

“Sometimes my cattle eat too much mineral and other times they hardly eat any, what is wrong with your mineral?”

Answer: Mineral intake patterns change with diet quality, a cow’s stage of production, climatic changes and cattle management. Seasonal fluctuations will always exist, and become more challenging in larger pastures or grazing allotments. Fortunately, cattle can utilize mineral reserves in their tissues during periods of non-consumption and put some in storage when intake is adequate. Many intake challenges can be addressed by adjusting feeder locations. Keep in mind that nutritional wisdom is a myth, so just because cattle aren’t eating mineral doesn’t mean they don’t need it. Perhaps they can’t find it, or they simply found something they’d rather eat.

“How do I figure out how much my cattle are consuming?”

Answer: We suggest keeping a record of your mineral delivery, including dates, amount fed and number of head. With these records it is easy to take the total amount of mineral fed in a given period and divide that number by the number of days and then divide it by the number of head. Multiplying pounds by 16 converts pounds to ounces. The following example shows you the steps:

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