Dallisgrass question

[Hogfarmer10]

My pastures are full of dallisgrass this year. I know I need to clip the heads to prevent them from getting staggers, but how often? I mowed 2 pastures about 2 1/2 weeks ago and the dallisgrass is headed back out again. You really can't even tell I bushhogged. I hate to mow it real short considering the time of year. I'm clipping about 10-12" high.

 

[kenny thomas]

Some very knowledgeable vets have told me thats its not a big issue if they have other grass to eat. One that's a professor at the vet school here said he had only seen 1 case in his career.
I turned 50 plus head into a field that has lots of it tonight.
Look at the seed pod and see if it looks like black soot. If not it doesn't have the fungus is what they teach vet students.

 

[Lucky_P]

Lots of dallisgrass here. Some years ergot on seed heads is more prevalent than others, but we never had any issues...and in 40+ yrs of veterinary medicine, I never saw a case of dallisgrass staggers.

 

[kenny thomas]

Lots of dallisgrass here. Some years ergot on seed heads is more prevalent than others, but we never had any issues...and in 40+ yrs of veterinary medicine, I never saw a case of dallisgrass staggers.

Thank you for agreeing. For a while they brought vet students to my farm to discuss dallisgrass, johnson grass. Fescue toxicity and acorn poisoning. It was strange to me that some of them knew nothing about any of them.

 

[kenny thomas]

This shows that im not very concerned about Dallisgrass. Lots of it in the pictures. Picture taken Wednesday 8/23.

 

[ClinchValley86]

That's mostly what we graze in summertime, I've only had trouble once in 7 years. She acted drunk as could be.

You can see it in the seedheads. They'll get real funky looming. Seeds turn black and mutate a bit. I don't stress it, but can see why ya would.

I'd think it should take quite a few weeks for them to go weird again.

 

[Lucky_P]

Thank you for agreeing. For a while they brought vet students to my farm to discuss dallisgrass, johnson grass. Fescue toxicity and acorn poisoning. It was strange to me that some of them knew nothing about any of them.

KT, I love - well, the cows love - Johnsongrass. I have seen some cow deaths and abortion storms related to feeding heavily-fertilized, drought-stressed JG hay with high nitrate levels, so it warrants some wisdom in when to cut/graze.

I suppose with a heavy ergot infection rate on dallisgrass, you could clip high to remove seedheads, but as I've never encountered a problem with 'dallisgrass staggers', I'd be disinclined to burn time and diesel doing so.

Acorns... I've seen plenty of cases of acorn toxicosis in cattle in heavy mast years - both in a practice setting and as a diagnostic pathologist at the D-labs. Deer and goats have proline-rich salivary proteins which effectively inactivat/tie-up tannins, so they can eat acorns with impunity... cattle and sheep, not so much. I've treated acorn toxicosis cattle with fluids, laxatives, etc., and seen them get to their feet and stagger off to go right back to eating acorns. The gallotannins in acorns wipe out their renal tubules, and they essentially die of renal failure.

 

[sstterry]

For a while they brought vet students to my farm to discuss dallisgrass, johnson grass. Fescue toxicity and acorn poisoning.

Good to know that most of your pastures are toxic