Kentucky Ag Commissioner Richie Farmer is advising farmers who are cutting a freeze-damaged winter wheat crop for forage to make sure they get it tested for high nitrate levels before feeding it to livestock.

“Farmers should test all wheat being used as forage to make sure they don’t poison their livestock,” Commissioner Farmer said. “The state’s livestock diagnostic laboratories will perform this service for $10 per sample.”

Chad Lee, a grain crop specialist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, said UK recommends that wheat used for forage that has a nitrate level of 0.44 percent or below is “usually safe.” Levels exceeding 0.44 can be used if the forage is blended with other feeds, he said, but if it tests above 1.5 percent nitrate, “don’t feed it at all.”

UK researchers submitted five wheat samples from Spindletop Farm in Lexington to the UK Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center last month.

The samples came from fields that received a second nitrogen fertilizer application in mid-March. The nitrate levels of four of the five samples exceeded the safe level, testing between 0.44 and 1.5 percent. One sample contained nitrate levels that were too high to analyze.

When a plant does not form grain, as was the case with the freeze-damaged wheat, nitrogen from fertilizer accumulates in the leaves of the plant, explained Mac Stone, director of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Division of Value-Added Plant Production.

In an attempt to help Kentucky farmers who wish to use wheat as forage, the KDA’s Division of Environmental Services approved a crisis exemption for wheat that had been treated with Harmony or Express herbicide. Current federal label restrictions for Harmony Extra, Harmony GT, and Express prohibit its use for grazing or feeding as forage.

However, the special exemption, which expired May 22, allowed Kentucky growers to use the wheat for grazing, hay or haylage.

This week’s crop report from the Kentucky field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service said 70 percent of the state’s wheat crop was rated poor or very poor.

Of the crop left in the field, producers expect greatly reduced yields, the report said.

Producers who see any indication of illness in their livestock are encouraged to speak with their veterinarian, who may recommend having forage tested at a reputable lab such as the UK Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center in Lexington or the Murray State University Breathitt Veterinary Center in Hopkinsville.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture tests forages for nutritional value upon request. The information can be used to balance feed rations for livestock.

Hay producers can post the laboratory results on the KDA’s Web site for buying and selling hay. For more information, call toll-free 1-800-248-4628 or go to www.kyagr.com, click on Programs and click on Forage Testing or Hay for Sale.