Grass Tetany

Grass Tetany

Susan Allen
Susan Allen

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 the Open Range AgriBeef Minute. Vitamin deficiencies are not just a human problem where a tablet once a day gives us the additional vitamins and other minerals we need. Tim Bodine, President of Performix Nutrition Systems says cattle can suffer from something called grass tetany.

BODINE: Grass tetany is a situation where livestock have a low blood calcium and low blood magnesium, typically occurs in the spring with rapidly growing vegetative grass and is marked by muscular contractions in animals of which you notice clinically.

Cattle diagnosed with grass tetany can die quickly and death losses may exceed 30% if not treated promptly.

BODINE: The good thing about combating grass tetany is it happens pretty much every spring so we’re aware of when it’s going to happen and we try to get some higher levels of calcium and magnesium into the livestock, feeding a mineral or supplement or a forage that has a higher calcium/magnesium can alleviate a lot of the risk of grass tetany.

Bodine’s Performix Nutrition Systems manufactures liquid and dry supplements for the livestock industry. Getting cattle to take their vitamins can be a bit tricky.

BODINE: One of the challenges with spring green up that makes this a little bit tough is that fresh green grass is very palatable to cattle and sometimes they’re not interested in eating anything else so you have to put something else out that’s kind of like candy that’s highly palatable to encourage them to eat it.

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. 

Previous Report Young Bull Management
Next ReportDemise of The Methow Pack