The Animal Dietary Mineral Balance Report translates pasture analysis into daily mineral intake — matched against your animal's true requirements — so you can identify deficiencies and excesses before they become metabolic disorders.
Standard pasture analysis compares mineral levels against plant and animal requirements combined. The ADMB report is different — it focuses exclusively on what your animal needs each day and how well the current feed delivers it.
Results are expressed as Daily Intake in grams and milligrams, not as a feed concentration. This makes it easy to calculate supplementation quantities and to account for changing dry matter intake across the season.
For dairy cows, the report factors in lactation stage and calving date. Requirements are scaled to liveweight and adjusted automatically when you supply your herd's details — or sensible defaults are applied if not.
"If the report shows a deficit of 8 mg of copper per animal per day, it is simple arithmetic to convert this into quantities to incorporate into feeds."
— Crop Monitor Technical NoteDaily grams and milligrams let you calculate supplementation quantities directly — no conversion from feed concentrations required.
A quick-read bar chart shows the severity of each deficiency or surplus at a glance, alongside the numeric difference.
Four validated ratios flag where mineral interactions are likely to raise the risk of grass staggers, bloat, or milk fever.
Add an ADMB report to any Mixed Pasture Profile [MPast] at no extra charge. Enter ADMB in the "Other Tests" column and supply animal details in the instructions section of your request form.
The ADMB report is built on three straightforward steps that turn a pasture sample into actionable mineral management guidance.
Collect at least 500 g at grazing height from paddocks ready to graze. Avoid dunging patches, troughs and gateways. Send to Crop Monitor promptly — courier preferred.
Record species, average liveweight and — for dairy — calving month and daily DM intake. Write ADMB in "Other Tests". Up to two species can be assessed from one sample.
Mineral concentrations in the feed are multiplied by daily DM intake to give the actual quantities consumed in grams and milligrams per animal per day.
The gap between daily intake and daily requirement is presented numerically and as a colour-coded bar graph — so action priorities are immediately clear.
🐄 Two animal classes — for example dairy cows and beef cattle — can be assessed from a single pasture sample at no extra cost.
Request a Report →Beyond per-mineral analysis, the ADMB report calculates four validated ratios that highlight interaction effects most likely to cause metabolic disorders.
High spring potassium reduces the availability of calcium and magnesium, raising hypomagnesaemia risk. The index flags when supplementation is warranted before clinical signs appear.
High potassium is linked to low pasture sodium, poor dietary sodium uptake and increased bloat incidence in grazing animals. Adequate sodium is especially important during dairy lactation.
Dietary Cation Anion Difference estimates whether a diet is acidogenic or alkalogenic. Milk fever risk rises progressively above 200. Increasing sulphur + chloride or reducing potassium + sodium through supplement selection is the standard management response.
Calcium and phosphorus interact: when one is marginal, a high level of the other can worsen the outcome. NZ pastures tend to be low in calcium, so high phosphorus giving a low Ca/P ratio is a recognised milk fever risk factor.
ADMB reports are calibrated to six animal classifications, each with its own default liveweight and requirement set. Supply actual values for the most precise results.
Requirements vary by lactation stage. Provide calving month, daily DM intake and average liveweight for a fully tailored report. The most seasonally complex animal class.
Assumes animals are well fed on the sampled diet in an active growth stage. Provide average liveweight to scale requirements proportionately.
Separate defaults for ewes and lambs. Provide average liveweight per mob for site-specific recommendations across your flock.
Mineral requirements assessed against dairy goat standards. Particularly relevant for selenium, copper and iodine status on intensive operations.
Calibrated to deer physiology. Useful for velvet and venison operations where trace mineral balance is a key production and health factor.
Pasture mineral assessment with requirements calibrated for horses, where calcium, phosphorus and selenium balance are priorities for bone and reproductive health.
Two elements warrant particular attention when interpreting the ADMB report.
Selenium — Crop Monitor' interpretive scale targets 0.05–0.15 mg/kg in feed for high-producing dairy cows: a margin above the deficiency threshold allowing for seasonal and analytical variation. The high vitamin-E levels typical in NZ pastures complement selenium metabolism in grazed dairy cows — an advantage that does not apply to housed animals in overseas conditions.
Copper — High levels of molybdenum, sulphur, iron and zinc all reduce dietary copper availability. There is no reliable formula to quantify these interaction effects. The report flags individual copper status; any suspected secondary deficiency warrants further investigation with your veterinarian or consultant.
Some feeds — grain-based concentrates, maize silage, Sudax grass — are inherently low in minerals. The ADMB report will highlight this without implying inferiority. These feeds are valuable energy supplements; the report simply signals when additional mineral management is needed in the overall diet.
Get in touch with our Agriculture Client Service team to order a sample kit, ask a technical question, or discuss which pasture profile best suits your operation.