05/16/05 Quick test for nitrates in animal feed

Forty mother cows died on a Blaine County ranch last year, two hours after eating oat hay that was too high in nitrates. Several years ago a feedlot lost cattle overnight to the same kind of high nitrate feed. Through a friend at Montana State a University of Idaho extension educator Ron Thaemert learned of an easy-to-use nitrate test kit that can show if there's a potential problem. THAEMERT "When it does tell us that there's high nitrate levels that we need to be concerned about we take that sample and send if off to a lab and have them do what chemistry so that we have exact levels of nitrates." Thaemert and his secretary Penny Silva are the only ones in the state that are certified to run the quick test which only takes about four minutes to indicate a nitrate problem. Thaemert fears he's going to encounter more cases of nitrate poisoning this year. In seven of the 36 Blaine County forage samples he took the nitrate levels were considered highly toxic. THAEMERT "In drought conditions, in stress conditions, we need to test that crop." He says there is a way to salvage feed high in nitrates and we'll hear about that tomorrow. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott