University of Kentucky Wins $300K Grant for Cattle Study

The USDA-funded research will test whether 5-HTP can counter fescue toxicosis in beef cattle.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Agriculture

Wide photograph of a green tall-fescue pasture on rolling hills, a white board fence running across the field, and grazing cattle in the distance under warm late-day light. — The University of Kentucky received a $300,000 USDA grant to test whether 5-HTP can counter fescue toxicosis, which cuts weaning weights for about nine million U.S. beef calves yearly. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment received a $300,000 USDA grant to study 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) as a way to mitigate fescue toxicosis in beef cattle. The two-year project will evaluate whether 5-HTP can ease the symptoms of the condition, which is caused by ergot alkaloids in tall fescue.

Why it matters

Fescue toxicosis reduces the weaning weight of nine million U.S. beef calves each year by an average of 50 pounds per calf. Because Kentucky is the leading beef cattle-producing state east of the Mississippi River and has roughly 14 million hectares covered with endophyte-infected tall fescue, the research bears directly on the state's cattle industry.

The $300,000 USDA grant funds a two-year study using six animals per treatment group to test 5-HTP against fescue toxicosis, which costs the industry about $2 billion annually. Researchers have not yet reported whether 5-HTP will reduce the condition's effects.

The players

University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

The college is the agricultural unit of the University of Kentucky that received the USDA grant and oversees the research.

Ronald Trotta

Trotta is the University of Kentucky researcher leading the study on 5-HTP and fescue toxicosis in beef cattle.

The details

Researchers will examine how 5-HTP influences feed intake, vasoconstriction and gut health by analyzing gene expression across several body parts. The condition arises when ergot alkaloids in fescue bind to receptors in blood vessels, constricting flow to the gut and reducing nutrient absorption.

The two-year study period begins following the grant award, with results expected at its conclusion.

Market Landscape

The grant extends Kentucky's long-running effort to manage endophyte-infected tall fescue, which covers about 14 million hectares in the state. Because the state leads the region in beef cattle production, a feed-based or supplemental remedy would carry weight across the regional cattle market.

Cattle producers dealing with fescue-related weight loss in their herds may eventually gain a supplement option if the study confirms 5-HTP works. Until results are published, producers should continue current pasture and herd management practices.

The takeaway

Fescue toxicosis costs the cattle industry heavily each year, and this study aims to identify a practical way to reduce its impact on calf weight. Producers in fescue-heavy regions should watch for the study's findings as they become available.