Thus nitrate poisoning is more of a problem when cattle are forced to eat stems in either an over-grazed situation or when the forage is cut for hay. Suspect forages can be grazed or harvested for hay without problems once the forage reaches a certain stage of maturity. This is very critical for ryegrass grown on organic soil and heavily fertilized bermudagrass on sandy soil. If nitrate toxicity is a concern, place a few test animals on the pastures for several days before grazing the entire herd. If nitrate toxicity is a concern, place cattle on suspected pastures for only 2 to 4 hours each day for the first few weeks to prevent over consumption.
Cattle seem to adjust to eating high nitrate forages with time.
But, it may be that cattle learn to select only the leaves that have less nitrate, or they eat more quantities of other forages if available. Do not overstock pastures where the suspect forage is the only forage available. Cattle are likely to eat the entire plant including the stem. Provide free-choice hay is possible. Do not place underfed or starving cattle on suspect pastures without filling them up with hay first.