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market-farming - RE: [Market-farming] fescue endophytes

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  • From: "Rick Hopkins" <rdhopkins AT americanpasturage.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [Market-farming] fescue endophytes
  • Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 15:32:49 -0600

Errol,

Dr. Vivien Allen at Texas Tech has done a great deal of work on kelp as a
livestock and a pasture amendment. We report our observations feeding
Thorvin kelp free choice in a 100% forage based livestock system.

The kelp is offered free choice to beef cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys and
our token horse. Our conception rates have been 100% the past two years
with a calving interval of 11 months 3 days on cows that are second calf or
older.

Cows are usually on the fat side with calf gains averaging 1.9 pounds per
day for 500 pounds or less on an annual basis. Consumption has declined
from 3.25 ounces per beef animal per day to .78 ounces calculated on an
annual basis. Treated cases of pinkeye and respiratory illnesses have been
non-existent for almost four years. We do not vaccinate or worm our
livestock except for the token horse.

Vivien has shown that feeding kelp increases immunity to infection and
lowers body temperature when grazing endophyte infected fescue. That in
itself is enough of a benefit to use kelp especially on animals who are
sensitive to the endophyte.

Kelp makes an excellent addition to compost or as a soil amendment. Putting
it through grazing animals places the minerals into the manure where it can
be utilized by the soil life along with other nutrients. Other users of
kelp report better beef flavor, increased egg production in laying hens,
increased milk in dairy along with lower somatic cell counts, and better
conception on first calf heifers.

Thorvin is the only OMRI listed kelp product for livestock feed.

Rick H.



-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of
CASTENS AT peoplepc.com
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2004 2:19 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: [Market-farming] fescue endophytes


Mississippi State University research (among others) showed that feeding
cattle small amounts of kelp could significantly reduce the elevated body
temps and respiration rates that fescue endophyte engenders. As I remember,
though, differences in weight gains, pregnancy rates or other
return-on-investment factors were not as clear cut.

Errol Castens
Oxford, Mississippi

Liz Pike wrote: ... I stumbled across the effects of endophyte infected
fescue on cattle, which greatly surprised me. It seems to affect them more
than horses.

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