Dennis Buermann's cows start in on white top minutes after arriving at their new pasture. Photo by Lesley Richman

My trip to Harney County, Oregon June 9 – 19, 2010 was my first opportunity to teach cows how to eat whitetop.  Cows belonging to the Roaring Springs Ranch, the Borelli Ranch and to Dennis Buermann, and Carol and Alfred Dunten all learned to eat the weed.  Some trainees got two days of training but even those that got only one day started eating it in pasture right away.  

The speed that the cows took to eating whitetop/hoary cress probably isn’t because Harney County cows are especially good students.  It’s more likely because whitetop is very palatable, even to people.  Whitetop is part of the mustard family and it’s leaves and flowers have a radish-like flavor.  The USDA Forest Service’s Fire Effects Information System says that white top and other wild members of the mustard family are high in vitamin C and their nutrients make them suitable for human consumption.

White Top in pasture

Adding a few white top leaves and flowers to your salad won’t do much to reduce the weed in your pastures.  But the high protein values might encourage you to get your cattle to work on it.  Allreference.com provides the following information on the plant’s protein values through the growing season:

• Rosette:  28.5
• Bolting:  29.5%
• Early bloom:  20.3%
• Full Bloom:  11.3%
• Full Seed:  7.9%

Since feed tables show that cows and calves gain weight more rapidly when they get higher protein foods, white top could be part of your cows’s healthy diet.  Here are some links to help you get started:

Coaching program
Cows Eat Weeds – the book alone or packaged with a DVD.