The State - News from April 12, 1985

A thousand head of cattle in the Sacramento Valley have died and an equal number are ailing because they grazed exclusively on oak tree buds after their pastures were covered with snow, cattlemen said. The buds, which contain tannic acid, can be fatal to cattle if they make up more than half of the animals’ diet. The first of the estimated 1,000 deaths occurred last week, and the prognosis for the 1,000 cattle still showing symptoms is not good. “It’s a local catastrophe,” said Jack McAuliffe, president of the Shasta County Cattleman’s Assn. The cattle are worth $200 to $300 a head.