Author: Colby Guffey
Planning Unit: Clinton County CES
Major Program: Forages
Plan of Work: Livestock, Poultry & Crops
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Wheat is often used as a source of forage for beef cattle in the area. With the late freeze events of 2020 producers were concerned about the wheat crop being damaged and increasing the risk for Nitrate concentration in the forage. Several producers contacted the local ANR Agent about assessing the Nitrate levels in the wheat crop prior to cutting it for forage. The ANR agent made several farm visits to wheat fields using the nitrate test strips provided by UK forage specialist to determine Nitrate levels. One field was excessively high in Nitrates and the producer was encourage to wait before harvesting the wheat. A return trip to the same field, yielded a lower Nitrate concentration via the test strips and the producer harvested the wheat for forage. Other fields that were visited had lower concentrations of Nitrates and producers harvested the wheat accordingly. High Nitrate levels in forages can lead to Nitrate toxicity and cause death losses in ruminant animals. The producers were also encouraged to send forage samples to the UK Vet diagnostic lab to accurately determine Nitrate levels before feeding to livestock.
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