ccurring. After several hours of daylight, the plant begins to grow and utilize the nitrates for protein synthesis.

Know the extent of nitrate accumulation in the hay. If you still have doubt about the quality of the hay, send a forage sample to a reputable laboratory for analysis to get an estimate of the nitrate concentration. This will give you some guidelines as to the extent of dilution that may be necessary to more safely feed the hay.

Hot dry summer weather brings about heat and drought stress on summer annuals. Stressed plants such as the forage sorghums can occasionally accumulate dangerous concentrations of nitrates. These high nitrate plants, either standing in the field, or fed as hay, can cause abortion in pregnant cattle, or death if consumed in great enough quantities. Nitrates do not dissipate from suncured hay (in contrast to prussic acid), therefore once the hay is cut the nitrate levels remain constant. Therefore, producers should test summer annual hay fields before they cut them for hay. Stop by any County Extension office for testing details. Testing before cutting gives producers an additional option of waiting and allowing for the nitrate to lower in concentration before harvesting the hay. The major sources of nitrate toxicity in the South and Southwest will be summer annual sorghum type plants, including sudan hybrids, sorgo-sudans, sorghum-sudans, millets, and Johnsongrass.

Some of the management techniques to reduce the risk of nitrate toxicity (Note: the risk of this poisoning cannot be totally eliminated), include:

Test the crop before you harvest it. If it has an elevated concentration of nitrates, you still have the option of waiting for normal plant metabolism to bring the concentration back to a safe level. And experience tells us that we cannot estimate nitrate content just by looking at the field.

Raise the cutter bar when harvesting the hay. Nitrates are in greatest concentration in the lower stem. Raising the cutter bar may reduce the tonnage, but cutting more tons of a toxic material has no particular value.

Cut in the afternoon or early evening hours. Some research has indicated that nitrate accumulation increases during the night time when photosynthesis is not occurring. After several hours of daylight, the plant begins to grow and utilize the nitrates for protein synthesis.

Know the extent of nitrate accumulation in the hay. If you still have doubt about the quality of the hay, send a forage sample to a reputable laboratory for analysis to get an estimate of the nitrate concentration. This will give you some guidelines as to the extent of dilution that may be necessary to more safely feed the hay.

he nitrate levels remain constant. Therefore, producers should test summer annual hay fields before they cut them for hay. Stop by any County Extension office for testing details. Testing before cutting gives producers an additional option of waiting and allowing for the nitrate to lower in concentration before harvesting the hay. The major sources of nitrate toxicity in the South and Southwest will be summer annual sorghum type plants, including sudan hybrids, sorgo-sudans, sorghum-sudans, millets, and Johnsongrass.

Some of the management techniques to reduce the risk of nitrate toxicity (Note: the risk of this poisoning cannot be totally eliminated), include:

Test the crop before you harvest it. If it has an elevated concentration of nitrates, you still have the option of waiting for normal plant metabolism to bring the concentration back to a safe level. And experience tells us that we cannot estimate nitrate content just by looking at the field.

Raise the cutter bar when harvesting the hay. Nitrates are in greatest concentration in the lower stem. Raising the cutter bar may reduce the tonnage, but cutting more tons of a toxic material has no particular value.

Cut in the afternoon or early evening hours. Some research has indicated that nitrate accumulation increases during the night time when photosynthesis is not occurring. After several hours of daylight, the plant begins to grow and utilize the nitrates for protein synthesis.

Know the extent of nitrate accumulation in the hay. If you still have doubt about the quality of the hay, send a forage sample to a reputable laboratory for analysis to get an estimate of the nitrate concentration. This will give you some guidelines as to the extent of dilution that may be necessary to more safely feed the hay.

n hybrids, sorgo-sudans, sorghum-sudans, millets, and Johnsongrass.

Some of the management techniques to reduce the risk of nitrate toxicity (Note: the risk of this poisoning cannot be totally eliminated), include:

Test the crop before you harvest it. If it has an elevated concentration of nitrates, you still have the option of waiting for normal plant metabolism to bring the concentration back to a safe level. And experience tells us that we cannot estimate nitrate content just by looking at the field.

Raise the cutter bar when harvesting the hay. Nitrates are in greatest concentration in the lower stem. Raising the cutter bar may reduce the tonnage, but cutting more tons of a toxic material has no particular value.

Cut in the afternoon or early evening hours. Some research has indicated that nitrate accumulation increases during the night time when photosynthesis is not occurring. After several hours of daylight, the plant begins to grow and utilize the nitrates for protein synthesis.

Know the extent of nitrate accumulation in the hay. If you still have doubt about the quality of the hay, send a forage sample to a reputable laboratory for analysis to get an estimate of the nitrate concentration. This will give you some guidelines as to the extent of dilution that may be necessary to more safely feed the hay.

we cannot estimate nitrate content just by looking at the field.

Raise the cutter bar when harvesting the hay. Nitrates are in greatest concentration in the lower stem. Raising the cutter bar may reduce the tonnage, but cutting more tons of a toxic material has no particular value.

Cut in the afternoon or early evening hours. Some research has indicated that nitrate accumulation increases during the night time when photosynthesis is not occurring. After several hours of daylight, the plant begins to grow and utilize the nitrates for protein synthesis.

Know the extent of nitrate accumulation in the hay. If you still have doubt about the quality of the hay, send a forage sample to a reputable laboratory for analysis to get an estimate of the nitrate concentration. This will give you some guidelines as to the extent of dilution that may be necessary to more safely feed the hay.

ccurring. After several hours of daylight, the plant begins to grow and utilize the nitrates for protein synthesis.

Know the extent of nitrate accumulation in the hay. If you still have doubt about the quality of the hay, send a forage sample to a reputable laboratory for analysis to get an estimate of the nitrate concentration. This will give you some guidelines as to the extent of dilution that may be necessary to more safely feed the hay.

Allow cattle to become adapted to nitrate in the hay by feeding small amounts of the forage along with other feeds such as grass hay or grains, cattle begin to adapt to the nitrates in the feed and develop a capability to digest the nitrate with less danger. Producers should avoid the temptation of feeding the high nitrate forage for the first time after a snow or ice storm. Cattle will be stressed, hungry, and unadapted to the nitrates. They will consume unusually large amounts of the forage and be in high risk for nitrate toxicity.