Cobalt (Co)
A rumen-microbe requirement rather than an animal one — the microbes use it to make vitamin B12 — which is why young growing stock feel it first.
Often searched as cobalt deficiency, vitamin B12, lamb ill-thrift.
What the pasture test should show
Low
< 0.06 mg/kg DM
Adequate from
0.1 mg/kg DM
What it changes in the tools
- Herbage cobalt
- Cattle need at least 0.06 mg/kg DM; lambs at least 0.10, so a pasture that suits the cows can still be short for the lambs on it. The NZ median sits right on the lamb line at about 0.10 — which is why only about half of NZ pastures meet it for sheep.
- Source: Bands: Grace & Knowles (2012), Vet. Med. Int. 2012:639472 (">0.06 mg/kg DM for cattle and >0.10 mg/kg DM for lambs", verbatim). NZ median and the 54%-of-pastures figure: Knowles & Grace (2014), J. Anim. Sci. 92:303–310.
Read it for your farm
Put your herbage test in and it reads the trace elements against these bands for your stock class.
These are published reference bands, not a diagnosis. Mineral deficiencies and toxicities are diagnosed from the animal — blood, liver or tissue — not from a pasture test alone, and the treatment rates are veterinary decisions. Talk to your vet before dosing stock.