|
Hot Vs. Not Fescue
ELDON COLE
MT. VERNON, MO.
Reference was made a few years back about comparing cattle eating habits on hot compared to non-toxic fescue.
The study was from the University of Georgia and helps explain the difference in animal performance.
As you look this over, can’t you imagine the grad students time and effort in gathering the data. It’s certainly revealing why hot fescue gives poor performance yet in spite of the problems, fescue has made southwest Missouri cow country.
Non-Toxic Toxic
% Time Grazing 41.9 36.1
% Time Ruminating 34.7 32.4
% Time Idling 23.4 31.5
Bites per Minute 56.3 48.4
Bites per Day 33,973 25,024
A fescue study I’d like to see, is to monitor grazing habits of cattle. Do some cattle have the ability to “graze smarter” and sort out hot fescue? When cattle awake each morning do they go to the same spot in the pasture to graze as they did the day before? As we study cattle’s genomic makeup regarding shedding and performance on fescue how much is a result of their upbringing by their dams? We know a cow is supposed to be able to give her calf an alert to not graze certain toxic plants, does that apply to fescue? What about fetal programming and fescue? The above thoughts can run through your mind as you check your cattle. See if you can pick out the smart grazers. ∆
ELDON COLE: Extension Livestock Specialist, Univerity of Missouri
|
|