Nitrogen Toxicity: Another Blow to Drought-Stricken Farmers

Drought Stunted Plants Struggle to Process Nitrogen from Soil

By Jean-Paul McDonald, Farms.com

The 2012 North American drought is becoming an on-going travesty leading to all sorts of problems for farmers. However, there is an unexpected threat to livestock farmers – nitrogen toxicity in feed.

With most corn crops stunted, or in some cases completely lost by drought conditions, the remaining feed available for livestock  may too toxic for cattle consumption due to elevated levels of nitrogen.  As the crop from lack of moisture, plant are unable to adequately distribute the nitrogen from the soil throughout the entire plant, causing an excessive buildup of nitrogen in the lower portion of the plant (stalk), resulting in levels too toxic for livestock consumption.

When livestock eat feed with high nitrogen levels, negative changes start to occur at the cellular level. The high levels of nitrogen in feed can cause damage to livestock’s blood cells. For example, hemoglobin, found in red blood cells is responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body and is then converted into methemoglobin. This progress is toxic to livestock and can cause lethargy, miscarriage and in extreme cases result in death.  Signs of nitrate poisoning include discoloured skin, rapid heartbeat, general weakness, labored breathing and coordination problems.

Many farmers are turning to research facilities to test for nitrogen concentrations in cattle feed in order to determine if their crops are safe for livestock consumption.  Often the elevated levels of nitrogen found in feed is a result of nitrogen fertilizer that was applied to the crops earlier in the growing season, changing the chemical levels in the plant resulting in high levels of toxicity.