University of Missouri Extension state forage specialist Craig Roberts says now is the time to check for ergot in the seed heads of grasses.
Ergot can cause severe illness in livestock, especially cattle and horses. One early sign is yellow syrup drops called honeydew in flowering seed heads. Honeydew hardens and turns into dark ergot bodies, which look like mouse droppings and are up to 10 times the size of the grain.
The toxic fungus infects the surface of grasses and cereal crops. Ergot can also infect cereal grain screenings, distillers grains and biofuel byproducts. It does not…
