Thu, 27 May 2004

U.S. livestock industry hurt by devastating disease

Interesting ... my pastures are filled with tall fescue, and none of my cattle have this. In fact, I'd heard very little about it before this piece.

Given the figures on the loss makes me wonder exactly what kind of cattle are affected. Could our "rare breed" cows and multi-species approach (we run cattle, sheep, goats anc chickens across the same pastures, which is something of a rareity in itself) have some impact on keeping this fungus under control?

The standard remedy, proposed by the article, is to simply replace tall fescue, which is a very nutritious forage, with other grasses. I just wonder if good grazing management would work as well.

A disease caused by tall fescue, one of the most common cool-season pasture grasses in the U.S., is taking a costly toll on livestock, including both cattle and horses. Although devastating to animals, this disease is not harmful or transferable to humans. According to Craig Roberts, state forage specialist at the Department of Agronomy, University of Missouri, this disease, tall fescue toxicosis, is costing U.S. livestock producers more than $600 million each year. Tall fescue toxicosis is caused by a fungus that lives in tall fescue grass. When the fungus is not present, tall fescue is a highly-nutritional pasture grass.

(link) [Science Blog]

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