Cattle rations have seen a rise of £3/t to £4/t in the past fortnight as millers react to huge increases in the price of minerals used in animal feeds.

Merchants report price rises of £200/t to £250/t in general purpose and pre-calving minerals with the prospect of further increases to come.

A fire at a major production facility in Germany is the primary reason why feed grade minerals are rising in price.

With the plant out of commission, supply has been greatly reduced leaving feed merchants to compete on spot markets.

The tight availability also means merchants are limited in the volume they can forward-buy, a method which can insulate them from price volatility.

Indications are that the latest price increases now put general-purpose minerals to between £600/t and £800/t, with some pre-calving mixes rising to as much as £1,110/t.

With inclusion rates of 1% to 1.5% in compound feeds, every £100/t increase in mineral prices adds at least £1 to £1.50 to the cost of a ration.

However, trying to cut minerals from cattle diets is not recommended.

With some farmers stretching fodder by restricting it, or substituting with other forages, the quantities of minerals available to cattle will be reduced. Proper supplementation is necessary, especially pre-calving, to ensure fewer issues such as weak calves, retained cleaning and milk fever.