Farm & Ranch
Livestock producers urged to watch for toxic plants
By: Blair Fannin
Photo caption: Coffee senna is a plant with 6-8 inch beans that can become toxic to livestock due to extreme heat and dry conditions. (Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory photo)
Extreme heat, dry conditions can lead to possible losses
Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, [email protected]
Contact: Dr. Tam Garland, 979-845-3414, [email protected]
COLLEGE STATION – Extreme heat and dry conditions can lead to a shortage of grass, and an opportunity to consume toxic plants and forages found in Texas rangelands. Livestock producers should be aware of potential pitfalls, according to a Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory expert.
Dr. Tam Garland, head of the lab’s toxicology section in College Station, advises cattle producers to scout pastures and be on the lookout for four types of senna plants that can be toxic during different seasons and weather patterns: coffee senna, twinleaf senna, sicklepod senna and Lindheimer senna.
Of late, extremely high temperatures without rain have stressed grasses. Livestock try other plants that remain green, Garland said. Coffee senna is maturing and is still green, and Garland said cattle will find these more palatable as the fall season approaches.
“Just like humans, cattle will want variety in their diet and they find the coffee senna beans quite tasty as forages become less available,” she said.
The plant will have 6–to 8-inch-long beans that grow upward rather than downward, forming a type of parenthesis around the center stalk of the plant.
Twinleaf senna will become more prevalent with frequent showers. Garland said this perennial plant will grow beside other weeds in the pasture.
“People think when they get rain they’ve got a lot grass in the pasture, but there are other weeds that can pop up,” Garland said. “This is typical of twinleaf senna
that is found growing in Central and West Texas regions where there’s limestone soils.”
Though herbicides applied to pastures earlier this year can control the threat of toxic forages and weeds, there’s still the potential for high winds to blow seeds into these areas.
“It’s still important for ranchers to scout pastures and be on the lookout,” Garland said. “The biggest problem is we don’t notice subtle clinical signs in our livestock, nor do we scout our pastures and look for these potentially toxic plants.”
Ranchers should observe their cattle. Those excreting dark urine and having consumed coffee senna, and also twinleaf senna if there has been rain, will have clinical signs such as diarrhea and weakness before they get down.
“And when they get down, they do not get up,” Garland said. “That’s why it’s so important for daily observation of cattle and to scout pastures. These are what we call alert downers. They will eat and drink if food and water is taken to them, but they cannot get up.”
For more information about these and other toxic plants, Garland has co-authored Toxic Plants of Texas, available at the AgriLife Bookstore: http://www.agrilifebookstore.org/Toxic-Plants-of-Texas-p/b-6105.htm .
Additionally, the lab can determine if livestock have ingested one of these potentially deadly plants. For more information on testing, visit http://tvmdl.tamu.edu/tests/microscopic-analysis .
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By: Rayford Pullen
Fall is here which means winter is closing in on us and before we officially get into winter, we need to make sure our factories are either producing or will be producing in a few months.
We have been pregnancy testing our cows this fall and if they are not bred or nursing a calf, we are bidding them adios. With annual costs somewhere between $900.00 and $1,000.00 per cow, those cows not producing a live weaned calf are costing us quite a bit.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Martha Crump
Most cattle producers can tell you quite a lot about balancing cattle diets for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals based on the specific needs for their herd and type of operation.
A key factor, and one that is often overlooked, is that how your animals perform is also directly affected by their water intake.
Now many of you may already be thinking “well of course water is necessary, anybody knows that!”
In many years, as September marches into October, we are beginning to experience some return of rainfall. But as many of us know, that is not always the case. Often we are still experiencing hot and dry weather, and water supplies are dwindling.
When we find ourselves experiencing those types of fall conditions, it is critical to not only understand the daily water requirements for cattle, but also the impact that the quality of water can have on herd health and development.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Tony Dean
Since their introduction to the U.S. in the early 1900s, Old World Bluestems such as King Ranch bluestem and Dahl bluestem have become established on farms and ranches from the Rio Grande to Nebraska. With such a wide range of adaptability, these species are subjected to a wide range of management, depending on location and the goals of the rancher.
Due to the aggressive nature of OWBs, producers in far South Texas have been trying to find a way to eradicate OWBs in their pastures. Texas AgriLife Extension bulletin “Introduced Bluestem Grasses: Management on Native Lands” describes several methods being used in the effort to rid pastures of OWBs. In 2016, one project involved using chemicals, plowing, mowing, reseeding, summer burning, and combinations of these practices.
To read the about the researchers findings and hear Tony’s take, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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