MOST natural rations fed to ruminants contain adequate sulfur to meet the animals' requirements. However, the use of non-protein nitrogen in ruminant rations increases the possibility of a sulfur deficiency, since the protein-rich feeds that have been replaced by urea are usually excellent sources of this element. Methionine, elemental sulfur or sulfate-sulfur supplementation of rations containing inadequate sulfur has produced beneficial results (Loosli and Harris, 1945; Lofgreen, Loosli and Maynard, 1947; Garrigus et al., 1950; Thomas et al., 1951; Goodrich, Johnson and Meiske, 1967). However, the availability of sulfur from each of these compounds must be clearly defined before recommendations can be made relative to the amounts of each form that must be fed. This study was undertaken to determine the true digestibility and retention of the sulfur from elemental sulfur, sodium sulfate and L-methionine and to determine the percentage of sulfur from each that was available for incorporation into wool, muscle tissue and several other tissues and organs.
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Johnson et al. (1971) studied this question.