Grass Tetany Reminder
Welcome to Open Range, I’m Susan Allen. Stay tuned because after the break I’ll check in with our field reporter, Greg Martin for the AgriBeef Minute.
I’m Greg Martin with today’s AgriBeef Minute. Grass Tetany is something that can catch you unaware at this time of year. Tim Bodine with Performix Nutrition Systems tells us why.
BODINE: Grass tetany is a condition that occurs in the spring with rapidly growing grass and forages and it’s a shortage of calcium and magnesium in the face of a high level of potassium. In the spring what you’ll get is that the plants will begin to grow very rapidly and they translocate a lot of potassium out of the soil when they’re first growing and then the calcium and magnesium come into the ground much slower so as the growth slows later in the season you get a much more balanced mineral composition in the grass.
But early on cows feeding on grass can lead to mineral deficiencies. He talks about what cattle need.
BODINE: The cattle need anywhere between 10 and 30 grams of magnesium and a lot of times a supplemental amount is between 5 and 10 grams will do them a considerable amount of good. Anything less than that is probably not enough to prevent or get out of a grass tetany problem.
The solution is simple enough.
BODINE: Usual suggest that they put out a magnesium supplement, sometimes a calcium and magnesium supplement at least 30 days prior to the onset of spring green up and make sure they keep it out in front of the cattle through the early spring growth.
I’m Greg Martin and that’s today’s AgriBeef Minute.
Thanks Greg. Don’t forget Greg will be back each Wednesday with the AgriBeef Minute. Agri Beef Co - Real Families, Great People, Exceptional Beef. I’m Susan Allen.
