CBS NEWS story "Grass linked to Texas cattle deaths"

[UncleBuck01]

I have no first hand knowledge, just read the news story and decided to pass it on !!!!
"Tifton 85 grass, which has been here for years, had suddenly started producing cyanide gas, poisoning the cattle." Here is the
link
Grass linked to Texas cattle deaths - CBS News

 

[TCJatko]

In reading the comments, this story was apparently poorly reported and rife with non-facts. The suspected cause of the cattle deaths was prussic acid poisoning.Prussic Acid Poisoning Apparently, the reporter had no clue. Surprising, huh? Of course the Neo-Luddites are quick to pounce upon supposedly "genetically modified" grass as the culprit.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I'm not sure that I understand the point you are making. Cyanide gas and Prussic acid are one and the same...Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN). While I was aware that some plants produce it in quantities high enough to kill animals (green almonds are reputed to kill birds under certain conditions), I was not aware that grass was ever a culprit.

 

[6string]

Facts don't matter to the drive-by media, just the story. NBC is a prime example.:jester:

 

[rambler]

Prussic acid is something dad talked about in the 1930's.

The fella had a field of Tifton - it's a hybred (NOT a gmo, fer crying out loud!!!!) with one of the parent plants known for prussic acid concerns.

So he had a drought, he fertilized the grass, the drought finally ended with 5 inches of rain, the grass grew like gangbusters, and he turned his hungry cows into the fresh lush grass.

Could there _BE_ a more perfect setup for prussic acid, a well known, for centuries problem?????

And this moron reporter for CBS can't research for 10 minutes to figure out this is not a GMO, and that this is a naturally tho rare occuring thing that's happened for centuries?????

He has to come up with some fabricated horror story of some GMO grass creating a poison gas???????

Moron.

--->Paul

 

[RobertBrown]

They changed the article and posted a correction. The article does not mention any genetic modifications at this time.
Too bad that guy lost 15 cattle. I wonder if the grass will loose it's toxicity after a time or not. Does the acid come from growing too much too fast?

 

[Egon]

Sorta related but different:

Back when I was a kid I recall that cattle were never let loose for long times in full standing field of alphalfa As they could bloat and die?

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Prussic acid is something dad talked about in the 1930's.

The fella had a field of Tifton - it's a hybred (NOT a gmo, fer crying out loud!!!!) with one of the parent plants known for prussic acid concerns.

So he had a drought, he fertilized the grass, the drought finally ended with 5 inches of rain, the grass grew like gangbusters, and he turned his hungry cows into the fresh lush grass.

Could there _BE_ a more perfect setup for prussic acid, a well known, for centuries problem?????

And this moron reporter for CBS can't research for 10 minutes to figure out this is not a GMO, and that this is a naturally tho rare occuring thing that's happened for centuries?????

He has to come up with some fabricated horror story of some GMO grass creating a poison gas???????

Moron.

--->Paul

Now that you mention it, I recall when I was in high school, and in FFA, we were told that Johnson grass was poisionous to cattle under certain conditions. I suspect this may be the reason. Not the same as green alfalfa causing bloat, which can also be fatal to cattle, but not a poisonous reaction. We were shown how to use a "trocar" to puncture the cow's stomach, thus relieving the gas and the resultant pressure on the cow's internal organs.

 

[creekbend]

Interesting facts. Prussic Acid Poisoning and What Is Prussic Acid? | eHow.com

 

[rockinmywaypa]

Is this along the same lines as grass tetony. Something I wouldn't know how to recognise but have grown up hearing about it.