NASCalf Minerals

Welcome to this NASCalf Knowledge Base video, where we’ll review the macro- and micro-mineral results from a simulation.

You can access the mineral reports from the Minerals menu on the menu bar. The macro- and micro-mineral screens are organized in the same way, with graphs for individual minerals and two tables that summarize the relationship between mineral intake and mineral requirements.

Let’s start with the top table, which shows intake versus requirement for a selected day of age. In this example, we’re looking at day 28. On that day, calcium intake is 9.5 grams per day, which exceeds the requirement of 8.96 grams by just over half a gram. Phosphorus, on the other hand, is slightly below its requirement, resulting in a small negative value in the deficit-or-excess column. The same comparison is shown for magnesium, potassium, sodium, chloride, and sulfur.

As we change the day of the simulation, both intakes and requirements update automatically. The graphs provide a time-series view of these relationships. In each graph, intake is shown as a square symbol, while the requirement is shown as a bar. Values are plotted every 14 days across the simulation, allowing you to quickly identify periods when intake exceeds—or falls short of—requirements.

One quick note, in case you’d like to compare the results from NASCalf wtih those of NASEM.  Mineral requirements in NASCalf are reported using the ACTUAL average daily gain, whereas requirements from NASEM are reported using TARGET average daily gain.  This can result in significant differences between the two models.

It’s important to note that most mineral requirements differ between the pre-weaning and post-weaning periods. In this simulation, calves are weaned on day 70, and you’ll see a clear shift in requirements after that point. For example, the calcium requirement increases from just over 8 grams per day before weaning to more than 24 grams per day between 70 and 84 days of age.

The second table summarizes mineral balance over time. It reports the number of days in deficit and the total grams of excess or deficit for each mineral across three periods: zero to two months, two to four months, and zero to four months. For calcium, calves experienced eight days in deficit during the first two months, but overall intake exceeded requirements by about 103 grams during that period. This matches what we see in the graph, where calcium intake between days 28 and 70 is well above the requirement.

Between two and four months of age, however, calcium intake falls below requirements on 52 days, resulting in a cumulative deficit of about 240 grams. This is also evident in the graph, where intakes at days 84, 98, and 112 are clearly below the requirement line. This second table provides a useful summary of how well mineral supply matches requirements across the entire simulation.

The micro-mineral screen follows the same layout and functionality as the macro-mineral screen, with identical graphs and tables to support interpretation.

All tables and graphs can be easily exported. If you left-click on a table or graph, you’ll see a red flash indicating that the underlying data have been copied to the clipboard and can be pasted into Excel or another program. If you right-click, a JPEG image of the table or graph is created, which can be used in reports or presentations such as PowerPoint.

That concludes our overview of the mineral screens in NASCalf. I hope you find these tools helpful in evaluating mineral nutrition across your simulations. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time.