alt is an essential dietary requirement of all farmed livestock. It helps utilise feed efficiently by stimulating salivation, which aids digestion and makes fodder more palatable.

Rapidly growing or lactating animals are most prone to salt deficiency, which typically results in:

• Loss of appetite and poor intakes.

• Depressed growth rates.

• Poor milk production.

Observable symptoms of salt deficiency include cravings for salt, drinking urine and licking gates, walls, stones and earth.