Cody Bowling: Did cottonseed make my bull infertile?

Bowling

Last week I had an interesting conversation with a local farmer about feeding cottonseed to bulls. Apparently, there was a belief that cottonseed would make bulls sterile if they ate it. Now, back in Kentucky I don't ever remember feeding our cows cottonseed and that's just because we don't grow any. So, I went to look up where this belief came from, was it true, and how good is cottonseed as cattle feed anyway. The information I am sharing today came from Lawton Stewart, a UGA Extension specialist and Texas A&M research.

There is some truth behind the idea that cottonseed has sterilization properties. Cotton contains a chemical known as gossypol. This chemical is a pigment produced in the roots, leaves, stems and most concentrated in the seeds of cotton plants. This chemical is toxic to many animals, including humans and young ruminants like cattle. Cottonseed should never be fed to cattle under 400 pounds, for this reason alone. Research has shown gossypol does have sterilizing properties in mature bulls, but at what point?

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Cody Bowling is a Catoosa County agriculture and natural resource agent with the University of Georgia Extension Service. He can be reached by phone at 423-355-7056 or by email at [email protected].

Bowling

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