Selenium (Se)
One of the three classic New Zealand pasture deficiencies — and one where the national median sits not far above the deficiency cutoff, with a seasonal dip on top of that.
Often searched as selenium deficiency, white muscle disease.
What the pasture test should show
Low
< 0.03 mg/kg DM
Adequate from
0.05 mg/kg DM
What it changes in the tools
- Herbage selenium
- Below 0.03 mg/kg DM is the published deficiency cutoff. ⚠️ The 0.05 "adequate" line above is OURS, not published — a deliberate buffer, because pasture selenium dips in spring, and the NZ median sits right on it at about 0.05. Only about three-quarters of NZ pastures meet the selenium requirement.
- Source: Cutoff: Grace & Knowles (2012), Vet. Med. Int. 2012:639472 ("herbage Se >0.03 mg/kg DM"), corroborated by B+LNZ Fact Sheet 95. NZ median and the 76%-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.