Table salt, soy sauce large amounts in processed foods small amounts in milk, breads, vegetables, and unprocessed meats. Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction. Trace minerals are needed in smaller amounts than major minerals. Essential minerals are sometimes divided into major minerals (macrominerals) and trace minerals (microminerals). Some minerals are essential to your health. The supplement should provide adequate intake of the vari-ous minerals to balance the supply from the forage and the animal’s needs while also being cost effective.įor further information about minerals and their functions see: Trace Mineral Supple-mentation for Kentucky Beef Cattle publication available at your local extension office or online at. There can be various mineral mix-tures with both different min-eral levels and intakes. The levels listed on the feed tag as well as the targeted intake must then be considered. Because a min-eral’s source greatly influ-ences absorption or bioavaila-bility, mineral supplements must contain sources of high bioavailability. Key things to note: target species (beef cattle, dairy cattle, etc.), mineral levels (percentage or ppm), target intake (ounces per day), feeding method (free-choice or mixing), and the ingredients or source of the minerals. Producers should always read the mineral product label. Mineral supplements are calculated making adjustments for the bioavailability of the sources. For example if a forage has a concentration of 0.2% of X mineral, the amount of mineral absorbed would be 0.1%. As a general rule when figuring mineral values in forages, the suggested usefulness should be divided in half to account for potentially low bioavailability. It is important to understand that the bioavailability of minerals from forages may be low. The first step in developing a mineral supplementation program is to determine the feed or forage mineral content. Intake and absorption of minerals must be adequate to meet all the animal's body functions.Īlthough many factors affect the intake and absorption of minerals by cattle, a major factor is the mineral content of the forages they consume. However, cattle may not consume adequate trace minerals for maximum immune function. Cattle can have sufficient trace mineral intake to support optimal growth or reproduction. The daily intake of trace minerals needed for maximum immune response is greater than the amount required for optimal growth or reproduction. Various body functions require different amounts of minerals. The above minerals may function as structural components of bones and teeth, electrolytes in body fluids, metabolism of nutrients, nerve conduction, reproduction, immune response, and many more functions. The trace minerals that are needed are copper, chromium, cobalt, iodine, iron, manganese, nickel, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. The essential macro minerals for beef cattle are calcium, phosphorus, chlorine, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Factors that influence the amount of specific minerals that cattle need include age, rate of growth, stage of pregnancy, and stage and level of lactation. A trace mineral can be just as important to health and performance of an animal as a macro mineral. These terms have no relationship to the metabolic importance of the specific mineral in the diet. Those needed in lesser amounts are called micro, minor, or trace minerals and usually listed in parts per million (ppm). These minerals are often listed on feed tags with a percentage sign following them. The minerals that are required in relatively large amounts are called major or macro minerals. Often minerals are separated into two categories. Grazing livestock require many different nutrients to support growth, milk production, and body tissue maintenance.
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