Cattle farmers across Missouri are facing conditions that could allow for heightened fescue foot in cow herds.
Fescue foot is a condition caused by ingesting Kentucky 31 fescue grass that has been poisoned during growth after a drought. Fescue foot can immobilize cows and cause hoof loss.
鈥淲e expect it to be worse than in previous years,鈥� MU Extension specialist Craig Roberts said.
When a herd faces fescue foot, it affects more than just a few cows.
鈥淪ometimes a farm can lose 20 percent of its animals; we had that happen last year and the year before,鈥� Roberts said. 鈥淥nce it hits you, it can hit pretty hard.鈥�
While fescue foot can devastate farmers, consumers are less affected.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 jack the price up of the beef in the grocery store,鈥� Roberts said. 鈥淚t just hurts the farmer because it can devastate the herd.鈥�
Darrel Franson is a cattle farmer who has seen this devastation firsthand. Of his approximately 75 cows, every year Franson had to euthanize six. A dozen more developed lameness preventing productivity.
鈥淚t鈥檚 heartbreaking,鈥� Franson said.
But Franson found a solution.
In 2001, he began converting his 137-acre pasture to a different type of grass that wouldn鈥檛 develop the toxin.
Not only did Franson put an end to fescue foot among his herd, but he also saw fewer stillbirths and nearly 9 percent more calves sold per cows bred. Franson said his investment was returned in less than 2 years. He noted that this is partly due to his ambitious grazing practices, sometimes moving cows to a new grazing spot twice a day.
Despite the benefits farmers see after reseeding, Franson estimates only 15 percent of pastures in Missouri have been converted away from Kentucky 31 fescue.
Replanting a pasture requires farmers to first kill the grass, and Franson said many are hesitant to do so.
鈥淚 remember the trepidation that I felt, the anxiety that I felt when I went out and killed that 10 acres,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut once I saw how quickly I had a new stand established again, it was easier after that. But that first step was a hard one.鈥�
Roberts said one-day schools held through the Alliance for Grassland Renewal that teach reseeding encourage farmers to replant.
The schools are expanding across the 鈥渇escue belt鈥� which spans across the Southeast, according to an MU Extension press release.
MU Extension plans to hold its school on March 18, 2019.
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