AGRICULTURAL
Lick supplements
Facts or fiction
A lot has been written about ruminant feeding, and particularly about lick supplements. As
a result, a number of misconceptions have formed, which are regarded as the "correct"
lick supplement. Many say “My grandfather did it in a specific way and therefore I do the
same”.
By Phillip Lee
I
t is a fact that many older people did
many things right, but aspects such
as licks have not necessarily been
adjusted on farms with changed
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SENWES SCENARIO | WINTER 2018
production systems, climate changes,
increased livestock performance, etcet-
era. There is also the danger that "lick rec-
ipes" are passed from generation to gen-
eration or farmer to neighbour, with the
risk of the lick being changed here and
there, to taste. We often find ourselves in
a situation where such a lick no longer
serves any purpose, whether in terms of
animal performance or from an economic
point of view. We will be looking at cer-
tain myths regarding lick supplements, to
enable the livestock producer to evaluate
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