Milking cows drink from 4 to 5 kg of water for each kg of dry matter they eat. Cows need access to fresh, clean water most of the day. When expressed on a dry matter basis, the concentration of a nutrient in a feed can be compared directly to the concentration of that nutrient required in the diet of the cow. The dry matter of a feed may be divided into organic matter and inorganic matter. When a feed sample is placed in a furnace maintained at about 550deg.
Forages usually contain more minerals than seeds or grains.
This distinction is based only on the amount required by the animals. Minerals required in the diet of ruminants and their chemical symbols. Mn Molybdenum Mo Zinc Zn Selenium Se Nitrogen containing nutrients Nitrogen is present in proteins and other compounds included in the organic matter of a feed. Proteins are composed of one or several long chains of amino acids . The sequence of the 20 amino acids found in proteins is determined by the genetic code.