Key Minerals for Cattle Grazing on Small Cereal Forages

Feb 28, 2025
By Farms.com

Nutrients to Prevent Deficiencies and Improve Cattle Health

Small cereals like cereal rye, winter wheat, and triticale provide excellent forage but often lack essential minerals. Supplementing cattle with the right nutrients can prevent deficiencies, improve health, and enhance productivity.

Essential Minerals for Lactating Cows

Lactating cows require adequate magnesium and calcium to prevent grass tetany, a fatal condition caused by low blood magnesium. Since symptoms appear suddenly, prevention is crucial. A 4 oz free-choice mineral supplement should contain:

Salt (NaCl): 20–25%

Calcium (Ca): At least 8%

Magnesium (Mg): At least 10%

Providing these minerals reduces the risk of tetany and ensures proper nutrition.

Minerals for Growing Cattle

Young cattle may not be as vulnerable to tetany, but proper mineral intake significantly improves growth. Studies show that cattle given adequate calcium and magnesium gain up to 0.5 lb/day more than those without supplements. A 4 oz mineral mix for growing cattle should include:

Salt (NaCl): 20–25%

Calcium (Ca): At least 20%

Magnesium (Mg): At least 5%

Magnesium also helps prevent bloat by supporting healthy digestion.

Additional Nutrients for Better Performance

Including monensin, a widely used ionophore, can further enhance cattle growth, with gains of around 0.2 lb/day observed in research.

Essential trace minerals like copper and zinc are also crucial for cattle health and immunity. A 4 oz supplement should include:

Copper (Cu): 1,300–2,000 ppm

Zinc (Zn): 2,000–3,000 ppm

“We invest significantly to offer the industry’s most advanced pipeline of innovative agricultural solutions,” said Camilla Corsi, Global Head of Crop Protection R&D at Syngenta.

By ensuring cattle receive proper mineral supplementation, farmers can promote healthier herds, prevent nutritional imbalances, and optimize growth when grazing small cereals.

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.