Farm Progress
DELAY TURNOUT: Grass tetany can be found in fast-growing cool-season grasses on pasture. If possible, ranchers should delay turning cattle out to graze until plants are 4 to 6 inches tall. Monitoring herd for disorder is vital, as animal health can rapidly decline.
Suggested Event
Jun 15, 2021 to Jun 17, 2021
With 2021 shaping up to be a drought year, cattle ranchers might not be worrying about grass tetany. It’s a condition normally associated with wet years, says cow-calf specialist Adele Harty, “when we’re going to have a lot more of that early-spring growth with our cool-season grasses.”
Harty, with South Dakota State University Extension at the Rapid City Regional Center, says the metabolic disorder associated with grazing lush, rapidly growing pastures can occur any year even in drylot situations.