Health and production aspects of feeding sweetpotato to cattle Michael S. Thibodeau, DVM a , Matthew H. Poore, PhD b , Glenn M. Rogers, DVM, MS c, * a Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, Box U-92; 372 Fairfield Road, Storrs CT 06269, USA b Department of Animal Sciences, North Carolina State University, 105-B Polk Hall; Box 7621, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA c Department of Farm Animal Health and Resource Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA The sweetpotato is ranked seventh as a worldwide crop. Over one billion pounds are produced in the United States alone, with nearly 90% coming from Southern states [1]. Given the high level of production, the costs for dis- posal of culled whole sweetpotatoes and processing byproducts can be ex- pensive and have negative environmental impacts. These sweetpotato waste products initially intended for disposal can instead offer an inexpensive ration ingredient to local livestock. Although the feeding of sweetpotatoes may offer a nutritionally sound and economically feasible dietary alternative, there are multiple health concerns of which the veterinary practitioner must be aware. Unless carefully monitored, feeding sweetpotatoes and sweetpotato byprod- ucts can lead to poor weight gain, dental and alimentary diseases, laminitis, and a fatal pneumonia. Proper ration formulation and herd management can result in the efficacious use of sweetpotatoes and their waste as an alternative livestock feed, which can potentially improve economic returns. Sweetpotatoes as an alternative food source Sweetpotatoes (Ipomea batatas) are a potential alternative energy supple- ment for livestock in certain regions of the United States. Feeding a sweet- potato-based diet has been shown to provide returns over feed cost that exceed a typical corn- and soybean-based ration. In an 84-day feeding study, Vet Clin Food Anim 18 (2002) 349–365 * Correspondingauthor.PfizerAnimalHealth,138RimRockRoad,Aledo,TX76008,USA. E-mail address: Glenn_Rogers@Pfizer.com (G.M. Rogers). 0749-0720/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. PII:S0749-0720(02)00022-1