Herbicide gets federal OK for Missouri cattle ranchers

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri cattle ranchers have received federal permission to apply a typically grass-killing herbicide on fescue pastures to battle a fungus that is harming their herds.

The emergency approval by the Environmental Protection Agency allows cattle producers to treat up to 8 million acres of tall fescue pasture with Select 2EC Herbicide.

The herbicide is widely used on everything from soybeans to tomatoes, but is not otherwise labeled for use on fescue.

Agriculture officials said Friday that the herbicide -- used more sparingly than on other crops -- should suppress the stem and seed-head formation in tall fescue, thus reducing a fungus that is toxic to cattle.

The fungus-caused toxins can cause low weight gain and abortions in cattle and decrease the flow of blood to their extremities, resulting in a rotting of their ears and hooves. Cattle that eat infected fescue also are likely to produce less milk and have trouble breathing.

"This is a serious problem that is an economic issue with cattle producers," said Paul Bailey of the state Agriculture Department's Bureau of Pesticide Control. "If the cattle do not gain weight or they abort, they're losing profit. If the cattle are unthrifty in appearance, they don't bring the high dollar at the auctions."

Missouri is the second-leading cattle state in the nation, producing about 2 million cattle a year, according to the Missouri Cattlemen's Association.

The state has anywhere from 12 million to 16 million acres of tall fescue fields, the Agriculture Department said. But Bailey said he expects only 100,000 acres to be treated with the herbicide because of farmer's hesitancies and the late word of the EPA approval.

The special exemption from the EPA, granted Nov. 8, allows the herbicide to be applied to fescue fields through the end of November before the grass goes dormant and from March 15 through April 15 before fields turn fully green.