The wet summer season has caused some weeds to flourish, weeds that can seriously harm or outright kill adult cattle, warns Stettler County’s Jay Byer.
Western water hemlock is a plant native to the province of Alberta and it grows near water, Byer, assistant director of agricultural services with the county, said. The plant is extremely poisonous if ingested, as its name suggests.
It’s not really a risk to cattle if the area isn’t overgrazed, since the plant is not the first choice for hungry grazers, Byer noted. However, if they lack choice, cattle will eat almost anything, including hemlock. Since the ground is damp, it’s possible for the plant to be completely uprooted, exposing the poisonous roots.
“Even if they eat one root, it’s enough to kill a cow,” Byer said. “Not a calf, a full-grown cow.”
Western water hemlock isn’t the only native, poisonous plant that grazers might eat if the area has been grazed down, Byer said.
“North in the forested, bush areas there’s a plant with bluish flowers,” Byer explained. “Tall larkspur can be poisonous as well.”
Seaside arrowgrass – which doesn’t grow by the sea, is not arrow-shaped, and is not grass – can also prove poisonous if ingested, Byer said.
The county is available to help livestock owners identify poisonous plants or invasive weeds, especially when the plant has a chance of being mistaken for a similar plant.
Cow parsnip is a local plant that is often mistaken for an invasive and dangerous plant called giant hogweed, Byer said.
The resurfacing of a 2011 article, originally printed in the National Post, states the plant has been found in Alberta but as recently as last week, Byer has confirmed there has not been a single confirmed case of the weed taking root in Alberta.
The weed, which can grow upwards of three metres in height, has dangerous sap that can cause burn-like blisters, sensitivity to sunlight and blindness.
The plant’s stalks ooze sap, especially if wounded somehow, Byer said. It can look almost like the plant is sweating.
The veined leaves are more like maple leaves rather than the rhubarb-like leaves found on cow parsnip, Byer said.
If landowners have plant concerns, the county is always able to help identify the growth, as well as provide safe assistance or information on proper removal options.
Recent storms cause extensive damage in Botha, Erskine
The recent storms have caused crop damage first in Erskine, and then in Botha south, Byer said.
Though there may be some recovery in the Erskine crops, which were damaged by hail in the first storm, the damage was more severe for the Botha fields in the storm last Friday, July 25. There’s less chance of recovery there, he added.
Some wheat crops in the area may have been damaged by wheat midges, Byer noted, but added that if farmers are noticing it now, it’s too late to do anything about it and the damage will show in the final product.
The damp weather has been a perfect breeding ground for plant moulds, but Byer said farmers have been on the guard and there doesn’t seem to be extensive damage in that regard.
Earlier concerns about a bertha armyworm infestation appears to be bearing out, an unfortunate reality confirmed by higher than average egg counts, Byer stated.
The county is currently employing a student who has been keeping track of egg growth, and it looks like the infestation will strike the western part of the county especially.
However, early counts that showed spikes in diamondback moths look to have not borne out.
“It’s good to see Mother Nature kept that in check with natural predators,” Byer said.