By Cory Mentink

When it comes to animal nutrition, there is really nothing more basic than mineral and salt. Notice I said basic not simple.  There are a lot of different mixes out there that all claim varied health benefits, and you could break the bank if you try to supplement with everything.  Then what’s a person to do?  We’ve tried to simplify what we do by using good quality Redmond’s Salt and Thorvin kelp. These two supplements offer a wide array of nutrients and trace minerals that have helped to reduce disease and parasites and increased health in our herd (or should I say flerd?) of cows and sheep. We also use this combination for our chickens, goats, turkeys, pigs, and horse.

So why have we chosen Redmond Mineral Salt for our farm? First, it is mined here in the United States near Redmond, Utah, so we know it doesn’t come from China.  The first rule of choosing a mineral is to avoid anything that comes from China.  Second, Redmond’s contains more than just salt (NaCL). It has more than 60 trace minerals including a completely natural occurring electrolyte profile of magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride.  These electrolytes help animals’ (and humans’) bodies to move nutrients into cells, move waste out of cells, balance fluid levels in the body, and maintain the acid/base balance (pH levels) within the body among other things.  I believe this also contributes to a more palatable taste for the animals. They appear to prefer it over other salts. Third, many other salt/minerals have synthetic vitamins and minerals added and/or anticaking agents which are not natural.  Redmond’s ingredient list on the #10 fine Premium Mineral Salt bag is “Unrefined Salt.”

One thing I’ve heard a couple different places lately is that some think there is too much iron in Redmond minerals and that it can cause issues in the animals.  Now I know that everyone’s situation and farm/ranch is different, but I think this may be a bit overblown.  First off cattle in the growing, finishing, gestating, and lactating stages should be taking in about 50 mg of iron for every kg of feed/forage they are eating. That would mean, if a cow ate around 13 kg a day, they should be taking in about 650 mg of iron daily. If you are grazing good pastures or hay, they will undoubtedly be getting some iron in their diet and possibly from their water, but would Redmond’s push them over the top? Let’s find out. There are 300 ppm of Iron content in the Redmond mineral. This is a simple conversion of multiplying this by .0284 to convert it to mg/oz which gives us 8.52 mg/oz of salt. If a cow were to take in 4 oz of salt per day that would be about 34 mg of iron from the salt or about 5% of the 650 mg iron a cow might need per day.  You would have to examine it in your context, but this small amount doesn’t seem to me to be a real issue for most people.  Always do your own research.

 I have heard testimonies from other farmers that have used Redmond farm products to improve their soil health. This spring I’m planning to use a combination of Redmond Mineral Salt (35%) and Redmond Conditioner (65%) as a fertilizer and remineralizer.  My plan is to apply this at around 200 lbs per acre on 2-3 acres of our alfalfa and pasture to see if it makes a difference. This could also be used in a garden or raised bed for added fertility. Stay tuned for the results!

Here at Mentink Family Farms we have chosen to use Redmond’s because they provide simple, quality, back to basics products that are helping our animals thrive.  Until next time, Stay free!