Mineral balance for the breeding herd

Grazing cattle generally benefit from a mineral supplementation program. Simple, right? Afterall, a well-balanced, cost-effective program only requires knowledge of vitamin or vitamin precursor, and mineral supply from the forage base, vitamin and mineral element digestibility and availability, and the animals’ vitamin and mineral requirements for their current age, stage of production, and mineral status (abundant vs depleted stores). Top it off with cattle’s tendency to be finicky and unpredictable in mineral supplement consumption and you have a situation that one of my friends…