Adding Enzymes Could Reduce Bloat05 March 2013 Frothy bloat in
cattle grazing hard red winter wheat is the major non-pathogenic
cause of death in the southern Great Plains which is why Texas
University researchers have been looking into decreasing the
severity of the condition, writes Kay Ledbetter for Texas
Agrilife. The study of a sample of heifers was part of the Texas
A&M AgriLife Research bloat-reduction study in cattle grazing
hard red winter wheat.at Vernon. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research
photo by Dr. Bill Pinchak) Dr. Bill Pinchak of Vernon, head of
the Bloat Research Project, has spent eight years developing
intervention strategies to mitigate direct bloat impacts, while
enhancing performance in non-bloated animals. Pinchak said
frothy bloat is a costly disease, with an estimated $40 million
negative impact on the beef cattle industry. The bloat occurs
when a polysaccharide biofilm coats the contents of the rumen.
When it comes in contact with fluid and rumen contents, the
fermentative gases are trappe