Beware of Nitrate Poisoning in Livestock

August 17, 2006

Click here for a video about nitrate poisoning.

Beware of Nitrate Poisoning in Livestock

Cattle and sheep may be susceptible to nitrate poisoning during drought conditions in North Dakota.

“Nitrate poisoning occurs when cattle and sheep ingest forage or feed with a high-nitrate content,” says Justin Luther, North Dakota State University Extension Service sheep specialist. “Clinical signs of nitrate poisoning are related to a lack of oxygen in the blood, and may include an increase in heart rate and respiration rate, noisy breathing, brownish- or bluish-colored mucous membranes and sudden death.”

Remember these management guidelines:

Test forage or pasture before allowing consumption by your livestock. Collect representative pasture or dry forage samples and submit them to the NDSU Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory or any other laboratory testing facility. Forage samples with a nitrate level at 1,500 to 4,500 parts per million (0.15 percent to 0.45 percent) or greater should be treated with caution. Forage with a nitrate level greater than 4,500 parts per million is potentially toxic and should not be fed.
Dilute high-nitrate forages (1,500 to 4,500 parts per million) with low-nitrate forages.
Frequent intake of small amounts of high-nitrate forage can help livestock adjust to nitrates.
Provide access to fresh, nitrate-free water when animals are consuming high-nitrate feed.
Always consider water and feed nitrate sources.
Check your sheep and cattle frequently for signs of nitrate poisoning.

Send samples to the NDSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, 174 Van Es Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5406. The lab can be reached at (701) 231-8307 or vdladmin@ndsuext.nodak.edu. More information on coping with drought conditions is available at www.ag.ndsu.edu/drought/.

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Source: Justin Luther, (701) 231-7993, justin.luther@ndsu.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.edu

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North Dakota State University
NDSU Agriculture Communication
NDSU Extension Service
ND Agricultural Experiment Station