Meadow grazing cows experience a range of health problems, but grass is not to blame, but cows still lose hooves, ears and tails, develop fevers and have difficulty gaining weight and breeding. Grist writes that this epidemic costs the livestock industry $2 billion a year.
In the early 20th century, overgrazing caused the pastures to become barren. A seemingly perfect solution emerged in the 1930s: Kentucky-31 fescue. This exotic grass grew in depleted soil and remained green all year round. Farmers embraced this and transformed the land into an ideal haven for livestock.
However, by the 1950s, its disadvantages became apparent. Cattle avoided pasture whenever possible, and those forced to graze it experienced weight loss and reduced milk yield. Who is guilty? An endophytic fungus that lives inside the tuber, making it durable but poisonous. The so-called “lightweight” version of fescue, developed in 1982, did not have the durability that homesteaders needed. They settled on the poisoned version, resorting to mitigation tactics such as grain supplements and pasture rotation.
Meanwhile, climate change is expanding the prairie belt northward, threatening new areas with prairie toxicosis, experts say.
Source: Ferra
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