The Right Now� Mineral Solutions Guide
“I tried feeding mineral once, but I didn’t see that it did anything but cost me money!”
Answer: If a mineral program is going to have any value, it should always have a higher economic return than it’s cost. Most mineral deficiencies in cattle occur over an extended period of time, and, depending upon the stage of production and environmental challenges, replenishing adequate mineral supplies in cattle can require a significant amount of time. Commonly in cow herds the production responses we seek to remedy will take a full year or more to evaluate. In order to truly assess the value and impact of a mineral program requires a long-term commitment and diligence.
Some of the most common reasons that mineral supplementation fails to elicit the desired results include: ineffective delivery of mineral to the cattle, mineral formulations that don’t adequately address the region, supplements formulated without regard to nutritional balance and use of inferior mineral ingredients that have a low bioavailability.
