FRIESEN Commodities Macro Minerals

A balanced diet of required nutrients is vital in the operation of a profitable animal production. A nutritionally complete diet provides all the necessary nutrients required by the growing animal or reproducing female. Because feed is the most costly element in animal production, there is a distinct advantage in using the least expensive feed ingredients available while ensuring all nutritional requirements are met. However, producers must exercise caution when feeding some lower cost ingredients that may be of lesser quality, to avoid the increased excretion of nutrients and subsequent impact on the environment.

Studying the effects of different types of mineral supplementation on animal growth can aid animal producers in developing a feed program that yields desirable gains while lessening detrimental effects associated with excretion of excess nutrients.