Green Chop Green chop forces livestock to eat both stems and leaves, thereby reducing problems caused by selective grazing. The cutting height can be raised to minimize the inclusion of regrowth. If nitrates are a potential problem, green chop can still be dangerous. See NebGuide G74-170, Nitrates in Livestock Feeding , for more information. Hay and Silage Sorghum hay and silage usually lose 50 percent or more of the prussic acid they contain during curing and ensiling processes.
Free cyanide is released by enzyme activity and escapes as a gas.
However, hazardous concentrations of prussic acid may still remain in the final product, especially if the forage had an extremely high cyanide content before cutting. Hay has been dried at oven temperatures for up to four days with no significant loss of cyanide potential. Although hay and silage rarely contain hazardous concentrations of prussic acid, analyze these feeds in a laboratory prior to use whenever high concentrations are suspected. Dilute or mix potentially toxic feed to a safe concentration with grain or forage that is low in prussic acid. Chemical analysis of cyanide in forages is the only reasonably accurate method of predicting potential toxicity to animals.