Formulation of a Mineral Supplement for Cattle and Buffaloes Under Wheat-RiceSugarcane Farming System of Northern India

Background
Basal feeds of livestock in mixed farming systems depend on the cropping system specific to each agro-ecological zone. The feeding of poor-quality roughages (wheat & paddy straw and sugarcane tops) with little bit of imbalanced supplements to cattle and buffaloes in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Northern India results in mineral imbalances and related specific deficiency disorders, which primarily contribute to their poor reproduction and production performance.
Technology Details
The requirement of minerals may vary in different agro-ecological zones and sometime excess minerals may become toxic. The developed mineral supplement contains only those essential minerals, which are deficient due to long term feeding of wheat/paddy straws and sugarcane tops as major roughage.