Cattle consuming 15 micrograms of ergot alkaloids per kilogram of body weight begin showing symptoms of fescue toxicosis. The condition reduces growth rates, fertility and reproductive performance and lactation. It also increases heat sensitivity.

Ron Trotta, assistant professor of ruminant nutritional physiology and molecular biology at the University of Kentucky, explains that soybeans contain essential amino acids and isoflavones that could counteract the ergot alkaloid activity.

“Data from the group that received soybean meal was almost like that from the untreated, healthy group,” he reports. “We don’t know why soybean meal was more effective than other forms of soy, but the next stage of our research aims to answer that question.”

“We estimate that fescue toxicosis impacts 9 million calves every year,” he says. “Feeding just 1.5 pounds of soybean meal per day to those calves would increase soybean meal demand by 13.5 million pounds daily.”

Read more about this research here.