Chemical analysis of the feeds commonly fed in this area has revealed
no deficiency in the trace minerals, copper, cobalt, iron,
manganese, and iodine, in view of what we know of the requirements
of cattle for these minerals. It is possible that for some reason the
minera1s present are not available to the animal in sufficient quantity
and perhaps not in the proper ratio. One of the objectives of this test is to determine the effect of introducing; trace minerals at a commonly used level into standard Kansas wintering and fattening rations. Another phase of the test is to compare self-feeding grain in drylot
to self-feeding grain on grass for calves handled in the deferred full-feeding
program. The system of deferred full-feeding, using good
quality steer calves, consists of three phases: (1) producing 225-250
pounds of gain during the winter; (2) grazing 90 days without grain;
(3) full-feeding 100 days in the drylot.
