Ergot is widespread in feedgrains across Alberta and other areas of Western Canada.
The problem is being attributed to spring weather conditions, when plants were heading and flowering in cool conditions and high humidity.
Alberta Agriculture beef and forage specialist Barry Yaremcio said it took more time than usual for plants to pollinate and airborne ergot spores from previous crops infected the developing heads.
As a result, there is a problem with rye, triticale, wheat, barley, oats and some varieties of grass.
“Producers are finding that ergots are present at much higher levels than is usually seen in all these crop types,” said Yaremcio.
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Ergot in feed can affect animals in three main ways:
• It can cause serious problems, including abortion in pregnant females of various species.
• Animal performance in feeder and growing animals is impaired by ergot, in the form of poor daily gains and lower growth rate.
• It reduces the blood flow to extremities such as the tail, ears, hoofs and claws. The combination of high ergot and low temperature can case animals to slough off hooves, ears and tails and experience frostbite. Yaremcio warned producers that while feeding screenings may be cheaper, it increases the risks of damage from ergot.
The limit for pigs is zero ergot. For all other species, it’s one kernel per thousand, or 0.1 percent by weight. For cattle, the limit is 12 grams of ergot per day.
“It’s easy to see that it doesn’t take much ergot to start causing problems,” said Yaremcio.
Producers need to evaluate their swaths carefully for ergot. If it looks like a problem, dilute the ergot by feeding ergot-free forage and other feed and limit the animals’ exposure to ergot in swath grazing material.
