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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2017
Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient in livestock production, involved in most metabolic processes in the body, and with an impact on bone development and growth. Diet supplementation with P can improve productivity, but at excess levels the P utilization can be low, and the high P excretion will lead to environmental pollution (Tamminga, 2003). P supplementation also adds substantially to the cost of feed. Using the isotopic dilution technique (Vitti et al., 2000), we have studied the effect of different P levels in diet on P absorption and excretion in Brazilian sheep, and identified the level at which true P absorption saturates.