G74-170 Nitrates in Livestock Feeding

Authors

Richard J. Rasby, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Rick Stock, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Bruce Anderson, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Norman R. Schneider, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

1974

Comments

© 1974, The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska on behalf of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension. All rights reserved.

Abstract

This NebGuide describes symptoms, causes, prevention and treatment of nitrate poisoning in livestock.

Nitrate poisoning in cattle occurred long before the use of nitrogen fertilizers. In the late 1800s there were reports of cornstalk poisoning in Nebraska, and nitrate poisoning from oat hay in North and South Dakota and from weeds in the high-organic matter soils in Florida and Wisconsin.

Nitrate concentrations in feeds for livestock depends more on plant species and environmental conditions prior to harvest than on the amount of available nitrogen in the soil.