water quality

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knabe

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Hollister, CA
at what level is total dissolved solids an issue for kidney's in cattle?

i am considering purchasing a property that is naturally sub irrigated, but the water is relatively high in TDS, (over 1200ppm). 

my uncle had a similar issue in kansas near the salt flats near haysville kansas, and had problems at about 10 years of age.
 

red

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Jan 20, 2007
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Knabe, I'm not sure but I know areas w/ high limestone can cause problems as well as iron. Good research topic!

Red
 

chambero

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Texas
PM me with your e-mail.  I can send you some information on the issue.  I investigated (including sample analysis) it for a friend with poor groundwater quality.
 

chambero

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For others that might be interested, water is generally considered unusable for humans or livestock if TDS concentrations are greater than 10,000 parts per million.  Water is considered high quality if TDS is < 1,000 ppm.  In between it depends on what specific constituents are dissolved in the water.  However, anything under around 5,000 ppm is almost always fine for cattle.
 

cowz

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You may want to study up on urinary calculi, which is a common affliction in cattle in poor WQ areas.  Call up your cow calf extension agent at Cal Poly or Fresno and see what areas of your state have those issues.
 

chambero

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Texas
knabe said:
at what level is total dissolved solids an issue for kidney's in cattle?

i am considering purchasing a property that is naturally sub irrigated, but the water is relatively high in TDS, (over 1200ppm). 

my uncle had a similar issue in kansas near the salt flats near haysville kansas, and had problems at about 10 years of age.

I can't imagine you'd have problems in the 1,000 to 2,000 ppm range.  There are a lot of people in this world that have to drink water worse than that.  A lot of cattle in west Texas would love to have water that good.
 
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