Nitrate toxicity dangers increase for livestock with dry weather

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BRADLEY GOERING
Have you ever been to the point where you could eat almost anything? In areas of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, this is certainly true in the livestock industry.

Feed has become so scarce, due to the dry conditions, that the ranchers and farmers are buying feed or selling the animals.

As the dry conditions have filtered into south-central Kansas, farmers will have to monitor potential nitrate poisoning with certain forages for the third straight summer.

Nitrate toxicity occurs each fall, which is just around the corner. If the uptake of nitrates by the plant from the soil exceeds the rate the plant reduces it, there could be a problem.

Most nitrates accumulate in the plant stems rather than leaves, and concentration tends to be highest in immature forage. Thus, the later-planted sorghums are most likely to develop toxicity problems if fed to livestock.

Other stress factors favoring buildup of nitrates in plants include reduced sunlight from cloudiness, frost, certain herbicides, acid soils, low-growing temperatures and deficiencies in other nutrients, such as phosphorus or sulfur.

Also, when more soil nitrogen is present than needed for maximum growth, some plants tend to accumulate nitrates even without environmental stress.

A characteristic symptom of nitrate toxicity is a chocolate-brown color to the blood in livestock that have died from eating high-nitrate feeds.

Some perennial grasses and weeds, such as fescue, johnsongrass, pigweed, nightshade and lamb’s quarter, can contain dangerous levels.

To help prevent nitrate poisoning, test the soil and apply nitrogen according to crop needs.

If you are cutting the crop for hay or silage, be sure to raise the cutting bar to 6 to 8 inches off the ground because most of the nitrates occur in the bottom part of the stems. Dilute the problem feed with other feedstuffs. Utilize the crop in a more mature stage if possible.

When in doubt, test for nitrates. Anything over 5,000 parts per million is a concern.

Finally, be aware of those “weedy” areas of the fields that you may be utilizing for feeds. Some weeds are palatable to livestock, and they can be just as toxic given the right conditions.

Bradley Goering can be reached by telephone at 620-327-4941, or by e-mail at bgoering@thecsb.com.

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