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Poisonous plants killing more livestock
BILLINGS (AP)--A conflicting combination of drought and rain has led to a bumper crop of poisonous plants experts say are killing sheep and cattle statewide.
Although a welcome relief, this year's early summer rains also ushered in more death camas and larkspur, which can be fatal in sheep and cattle, and lupine, which can cause birth defects in calves.
"The number of ranchers suffering cattle losses to larkspur stunned me," said John Paterson, an Extension Service beef specialist with Montana State University.
The years-long drought is also to blame by drying up rangeland and leaving few plants but larkspur and other toxic varieties behind, said Bret Olsen, a range scientist at MSU.
"These are long-lived perennials that survive 60 to 70 years," he said. "I cannot imagine what kind of a drought it would take to kill it."
Reports of sheep and cattle deaths have been filtering in to range and animal scientists across the state.
Death camas recently killed about two dozen sheep in the area between Anaconda and Deer Lodge, said Rodney Kott, an MSU sheep specialist. In another incident, 15 Madison County sheep died from the plant in one day.
Livingston rancher Tom Lane Jr. has lost seven adult cows to tall larkspur this season despite spraying for the weed. Dick Morgan, who ranches on the west side of the Bridger Mountains, has lost two cows.
"Nobody seems to have answers for this," Morgan said.
In drought years, larkspur and other poisonous plants are generally less of a problem, experts said. This year's rains made it grow ahead of any grass, which has in turn made it more available to grazing cattle.
Experts advised ranchers to learn what the plants look like and calculate their density, which is typically the biggest risk factor in potential poisonings.
Experts also recommended ranchers graze pastures susceptible to tall larkspur early or late in the season, since the plant doesn't emerge until the summer. The plant is no longer toxic after pods dry and shatter.
Although typically more of a problem in western Montana, death camas is toxic to both lambs and adult sheep, Kott said.
Deaths usually occur shortly after a rain when the plant's bulbs can easily be pulled out and eaten or when sheep are trailed through an area, grazing along the way rather than selectively, he said.
Lupine poisoning has affected cattle herds more in Idaho and Washington so far, but has reached 15 percent in some herds, experts said. The plant causes some pregnant cows to give birth to calves with locked joints.
Date: 7/22/04
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