A Study on the Transfer of Iron in Soil–Plant–Animal Continuum Under Semi-arid Environmental Conditions in Sargodha, Pakistan Zafar Iqbal Khan & Muhammad Ashraf & Muhammad Khalid Mukhtar & Nasra Raza & Kafeel Ahmad & Nudrat Aisha Akram Received: 15 July 2010 / Accepted: 29 July 2010 / Published online: 12 August 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 Abstract The present investigation on the iron (Fe) transfer from soil to plant and in turn to animal (cows), as a function of sampling periods was conducted at the Livestock Experimental Station Sargodha, Pakistan which falls under semi-arid conditions. Although the iron transfer from soil to forage increased consistently, the forage Fe content decreased progressively with increase in sampling period. Highest Fe transfer from forage to cow blood plasma was observed during October and lowest during January. The transfer of Fe from forage to animal milk was maximum during the months of October and January and minimum during December. The transfer of Fe to plasma and milk was found to be dependent variably on the growth stage of forage in this investigation. Based on the findings of the present study, it is evident that mineral supplementation with higher Fe availability is urgently warranted to the animals particularly during the months of December and January to enhance plasma Fe in the cows being reared at that livestock farm during the entire grazing period. Thus, obligatory supplementation of Fe to the ruminants is highly recommended. Since the processes involved in iron management system in humans, animals, and plants are basically similar, appropriate elemental management must be provided to the living organisms, otherwise deficient or excessive levels of iron may deteriorate the developing cells of the organisms. Keywords Soil . Forage . Plasma . Milk . Pakistan Biol Trace Elem Res (2011) 142:890–895 DOI 10.1007/s12011-010-8799-6 Z. I. Khan (*) : M. K. Mukhtar : N. Raza : K. Ahmad Department of Biological Sciences, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan e-mail: zikhan11@gmail.com M. Ashraf : N. A. Akram Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan M. Ashraf King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia