Livestock production constitutes essentially an integral part of hill agriculture, particularly in the Himalayas where animals are rared according to centuries old traditional practices. Inspite of a large ruminant population milk production is low because of poor individual cow productivity, which in turn is attributed mainly to mineral deficiency. Among the different environmental factors, soil plays a vital role in ruminant animal health and production because ruminants obtain their nutrient needs from feed and fodder, which in turn obtain nutrients from the soil.It is important to...