Clay may improve digestion of fat in cattle diets

By Emma Penrod|December 26, 2019
Clay may improve digestion of fat in cattle diets

Akvals | Dreamstime.com

Supplementing cattle diets with clay may hold multiple benefits beyond binding mycotoxins

A new study from the University of Illinois and Ukraine’s United Minerals Group suggests a diet containing clay may improve the ability of cattle to digest fat, especially saturated fatty acids, potentially making more energy available from the animal’s diet. The results, published in the January edition of Animal Feed Science and Technology, have led the authors to recommend a diet containing clay at about 1% of dry matter for cattle, though more research is needed to determine exactly why the clay is beneficial.


Emma Penrod has covered science and business, with an emphasis on health, the environment and agriculture, for more than a decade. Penrod covers the animal feed industry for WATTAgNet.com and can be contacted at [email protected].

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