Page 15 - MWC 10-27-2022s

for two weeks because the them quickly when the upper The Midwest Cattleman · October 27, 2022 · P15
plants usually contain high portion of plants is grazed off. ly during the hay drying Forage legumes such as
concentrations of prussic acid. •Generally, forage nitrate process and the forage alfalfa and clovers have an
•New growth may appear levels drop significantly 3 to 5 should be safe once baled increased risk of bloat when
at the base of the plant after days after sufficient rainfall, as dry hay. The forage can grazed one or two days after
a non-killing frost. If this oc- but it is always safer to send be mowed any time after a a hard frost. The bloat risk is
curs, wait for a killing freeze, in a sample for testing before frost if you are making hay. It highest when grazing pure le-
then wait another 10 to 14 grazing or feeding forage soon is rare for dry hay to contain gume stands and least when
days before grazing the new after drought stress periods. I toxic levels of prussic acid. grazing stands having mostly
growth. have seen where frosts after However, if the hay was not grass.
•Do not allow hungry or drought ending rains seem to properly cured and dried be- The safest management is
stressed animals to graze maintain the high nitrate lev- fore baling, it should be tested to wait a few days after a kill-
young growth of species with els in forages (high nitrates for prussic acid content before ing frost before grazing pure
prussic acid potential. To re- can be maintained all winter feeding to livestock. legume stands – wait until
duce the risk, feed ground ce- in the forage), so don’t assume Forage with prussic acid the forage begins to dry from
real grains to animals before frosts will reduce the nitrate potential that is stored as the frost damage. It is also a
turning them out to graze. levels. Keep testing the forage silage is generally safe to good idea to make sure ani-
•Use heavy stocking rates and only graze or feed it when feed. To be extra cautious, mals have some dry hay be-
(4-6 head of cattle/acre) and and IF the nitrate levels drop wait 5 to 7 days after a fore being introduced to lush
rotational grazing to reduce to safe levels! frost before chopping for fall pastures that contain sig-
the risk of animals selective- •Making hay does not re- silage. If the plants appear to nificant amounts of legumes.
ly grazing leaves that can duce nitrate levels in the for- be drying down quickly after You can also swath your le-
contain high levels of prussic age, but the hay can be tested a killing frost, it is safe to en- gume-rich pasture ahead of
acid. and diluted sufficiently with sile sooner. grazing and let animals graze
•Never graze immature other feeds to make it safe for Delay feeding silage for dry hay in the swath. Bloat
growth or short regrowth fol- animals. 8 weeks after ensiling. If protectants like poloxalene
lowing a harvest or grazing (at •Ensiling forage converts the forage likely contained can be fed as blocks or mixed
any time of the year). Graze nitrates to volatile nitrous high levels of cyanide at the with grain. While this an ex-
or greenchop sudangrass only oxides, or “silo gases”. These time of chopping, hazardous pensive supplement, it does
after it is 15 to 18 inches tall. gases are highly toxic to hu- levels of cyanide might re- work well when animals eat a
Sorghum-sudangrass should mans. Safety practices in- main, and the silage should uniform amount each day.
be 24 to 30 inches tall before clude removing tarps from a be analyzed before feeding.
grazing. portion of the silo a day or two C.O.R.N. Newsletter
•Do not graze wilted plants before removing the silage Species That Can Cause
or plants with young tillers. from the bunker and wearing Bloat After Frost
•Under drought conditions, respirators designed to filter
allow animals to graze only out nitrous oxides.
Nance nce
the upper one-third to one- Greenchop Na
half of the plant or the leaves Green-chopping will not re- Col. Bill Nance
of coarse-stemmed forages duce the level of nitrates and
Auction Service
if the nitrate levels in these is not likely to greatly reduce Auction Service
plant parts is safe. Monitor the level of prussic acid pres- NanceAuctionService.com
animals closely and remove ent. However, green-chopping
frost-damaged plants In God we trust! Philippians 4:13
will lower the risk “No Matter How Big or Small, We Do Them ALL”
compared with grazing Whether you sell a dozen or a hundred head...
directly, because ani- Whatever breed you raise...
mals are less likely to Wherever you live...
selectively graze dam-
aged tissue. Stems in
the forage dilute the At every event, we deliver
high prussic acid con-
tent that can occur in the same excellent service
leaves. However, the that our sellers and buyers
forage can still be toxic, have come to expect
so feed greenchop
with great caution Scheduling Cattle Sales for Fall 2022 & Spring 2023
after a frost. If feeding Upcoming Balancer® Sale
greenchopped forage Also Specializing in Nov. 5 - B/F Cattle Co.,
of species containing Farm Auctions Butler, MO
cyanogenic glucosides, Real Estate
feed it within a few Liquidations
hours of greenchop-
ping, and do not leave
greenchopped forage in
wagons or feedbunks
overnight.
Hay and Silage
Green-chopping will not reduce the level of nitrates Prussic acid con-
but will lower the risk compared with grazing, tent in the plant de-
however, the forage can still be toxic, so feed creases dramatical- Sheldon, MO * nanceauctionservice@yahoo.com * 417.214.0093
greenchop with great caution after a frost.