Animal Nutrition
Pure calcium carbonate for animal feed.
A clean calcium source for dairy, poultry, and layer rations, delivered on time and always to specification. We're the world's largest supplier of oolitic aragonite, a pure, renewable calcium carbonate harvested in the Bahamas.
In the ration
Aragonite in poultry and dairy rations
A cleaner calcium than limestone
Bahamian oolitic aragonite is a purer source of calcium than limestone, a calcium carbonate with uniform chemistry load after load. Typical assays run to CaCO₃ 96% minimum, with Fe₂O₃ to a maximum of 80 ppm.
What Penn State found in dairy cows
Aragonite is also more porous than limestone. University research at the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences demonstrated better bioavailability than limestone and sodium bicarbonate in dairy cows: rumen buffering comparable to sodium bicarbonate, with superior calcium bioavailability. (Penn State: "Aragonite as a Rumen Buffer and Calcium Source for Lactating Dairy Cows.")
A rumen buffer and calcium source in one
For lactating dairy cows, aragonite works as both a rumen buffer and a readily available calcium source, which is what Rumen Cal+ is built on. Cows, especially dairy cows, demand calcium they can get at quickly, for health and performance.
Poultry grit and layer calcium
For poultry, the coarse grades do the work. We supply Poultry Shells at 1/8 inch x 12 mesh and Aragonite Chips at 4 x 20 mesh, at calcium 36% minimum, magnesium under 0.5%, moisture under 1%. Both are a soluble calcium carbonate grit sized for layer rations, and a fine grade runs at 16 x 200 mesh.
An aragonite alternative to oyster shell calcium
Formulators shopping calcium for layers usually start with oyster shell calcium. Aragonite is the same base chemistry: calcium carbonate, CaCO₃ at a minimum of 96%, iron (Fe₂O₃) held to a maximum of 80 ppm. We supply it in coarse sized grades, in bulk, load after load.
Consistent, sized to your mixer
We size to the right gradation at our own facility, white or tan granules matched to your feed process. Uniform chemistry means each load behaves like the last, and tighter custom gradations are available on request where a standard size doesn't suit the mixer.
Worth knowing what it is. What is oolitic aragonite
Specifications
The analysis your formulator will want
What follows is the typical analysis of our oolitic aragonite as harvested and processed. Qualify it against your feed formulation before you commit.
For most feed buyers it's CaCO₃ at 96% minimum for calcium, Fe₂O₃ at 80 ppm maximum for purity, and then the sieve analysis for how the particle sits in the mix.
| Analyte | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Fe₂O₃ | 80 ppm max |
| CaCO₃ | 96% min |
| MgO | 0.35% |
| H₂O | <1% |
| US mesh | % retained |
|---|---|
| +20 | 0 |
| +30 | 28.7 |
| +40 | 28.5 |
| +50 | 25 |
| +70 | 12.7 |
| +100 | 4.1 |
| +140 | 0.8 |
| +200 | 0.2 |
Typical values, not a guaranteed analysis. Certified assays available on request.
Supply and delivery
Feed calcium, at the volume a mill runs
This company is operated by the former principals of Marcona, who harvested aragonite at Ocean Cay from the 1970s into the early 2000s. We still dig in close conjunction with the Bahamian government, and the sites are picked on uniform test results and on renewal.
We're the world's largest supplier of oolitic aragonite, and we move it in bulk. Our own truck fleet, plus rail out of our own yard, keeps deliveries consistent and on time.
Deliver on time, always to specification. That is the whole job. We have never had a rejected load, and we have never failed to meet customer demand.
PCO Certified Organic, the handling operation
Ag Source, LLC, the operating company whose name appears on your invoice, is certified organic by Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO) to the USDA organic regulations (7 CFR Part 205) for Handling. NOP Operation ID 8210001017, status Certified.
If you run a certified organic livestock or poultry operation, that means the company handling and shipping your calcium is itself a certified organic handler. That's one less link in the supply chain for your certifier to chase down.
To be precise about what it covers: this certifies the operation, not the mineral. It does not by itself qualify aragonite as an approved ingredient in your organic ration. Qualify the material against your certifier's requirements the way you would any other input.
Certification status is maintained by PCO and the USDA and not by us. Look up NOP ID 8210001017 in the Organic Integrity Database to confirm it.
Let's talk supply.
Tell us the ration you're formulating and the tonnage, and we'll get you material that hits it, every time. The Industry field below is already set to Animal Nutrition & Pet Food.
Thank you. We're on it.
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