Wisconsin officials have figured out what caused 200 cows to drop dead at a local farm on January 14th.
Potatoes.
Moldy potatoes!
Officials initially believed a virus such as infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) or bovine virus diarrhea (BVD caused the deaths but, further testing revealed pneumonia to be the likely culprit.
After sending the cattle’s feed for testing, officials discovered a mycotoxin commonly occurring in moldy sweet potatoes, ipomeanol, was found to have triggered the pneumonia that caused the animals to die.
Aww, so sad!
It’s not the first time either, as similar cases of decaying sweet potatoes have been reported throughout the last decade.
Officials assure there is no threat of pneumonia spreading through the areas human population since the spoiled potatoes were not in the human food chain.
Phew!
We’re happy to hear a legitimate explanation that gives us and the people living near the farm in Wisconsin some solid closure.
We’re even happier to hear “loud noises” didn’t scare the cows to death either like all these other animals dropping dead.
[Image via AP Images.]
