Digital Commons Network^™

Risk Of Nitrate Toxicity When Grazing Annual Forages, Mary Lenz

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Annual forages provide a valuable grazing resource for producers; however, annuals are prone to accumulating nitrate and toxicity can be a potential challenge. There are multiple publications regarding nitrate toxicity, but few, if any, address grazing high nitrate forages. There is variability on what amount of nitrate is considered toxic to cattle, and information is not available on the frequency producers experience toxicity when feeding annual forages. To understand the incidence of nitrate toxicity in the North Central Region of the U.S., a survey was distributed through the “UNL BeefWatch” newsletter to producers. Though producers appeared concerned about nitrates in …