Whitetop/Hoary Cress – Whatever You Call It, Livestock Love it!

My first opportunity to train cows to eat Whitetop/Hoary Cress (Cardaria draba) was in June of 2010 in Harney County, Oregon.  Cows belonging to the Roaring Springs Ranch, the Borelli Ranch, to Dennis Beurmann, and Carol and Alfred Dunten all learned to eat the weed.  Some trainees were fed the weed in training for 2 days, and others for only one day, but they all 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. Nutrients 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 prot