Horse manure and Barrier H / Roundup.

[VirginVegGrower]

Cattle (and people) need mineral supplementation for optimum health because most farmland has been worked for many decades without adequate mineral replacement. Modern 'Conventional' farming routinely removed 60+ minerals in the crops and replaced only 3 (NPK) for so long that all the others are depleted or completely gone. Traditional mixed farming didn't overstock and returned all the manures and wastes to the soil, so livestock remained healthy because it was diverse and there was no monoculture. (It was also labour intensive, so less unemployment too) Add to this hundreds of years of rainfall leaching minerals from soil left bare and tilled over the winter, and you get the picture. Green manuring and organic mixed farming (and smallholding) have a vital role to play in regenerating our Earth's fertility!

It's why I Rockdust.

[Mikey]

You said in your opening post that the ragwort was individually sprayed. Ragwort is an unpleasant plant for cattle, and I've spent many a summer pulling it up from verges for the council, but you don't generally find it on mass in fields. It tends to be in spots which are more sheltered. So if it was spot sprayed on individual plants then very little of the fields would have been sprayed by the roundup anyway.

Personally, I'd get plenty, and ask for some well rotted stuff if they've got it, it always helps to ask.