What is the typical trace element content in forages?
In a recent NAHMS beef survey, 352 forage samples were provided by producers in 18 states. A summary of the trace mineral classification used and the results are shown in Tables 4 and 5. The most notable trace mineral deficiency was the fact that only 2.5 percent of the forage samples contained a level of zinc at or exceeding 30 ppm which is classified as adequate. In contrast, 76% of the samples were classified as having an adequate manganese level. Only 14.2% of the samples were classified as copper deficient but, another 49.7% of the copper levels were in the marginal classification. The above results are for a wide range of forages collected throughout the United States. Results more specific to the four states (Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas area) are shown in Table 6. The results from these 4-states support the national survey which indicates that most forage samples are marginal to deficient in zinc, and a fairly high proportion of the forage samples contain an adequate
