The fungus, called ergot, “thrives when springs are cool and summers are hot, as has been the case this year,” reads the report, noting it typically is found in barley, oats and wheat, but can also infect grasses and pastureland, including hay fields, causing illness and death to cattle, dairy cows, horses and llamas. If not fatal, it can cause fertility, digestive and production problems.  

The fungus looks much like small rodent droppings in the seed heads of plants, according to the report. Cutting pastureland early in the season helps limit its growth, but wet weather hampered early mowing.

This is the same fungus that, according to some belief, infected women in late-1600s Salem, Massachusetts, during the now infamous witch trials. Ergot is believed to cause ill behavior and hallucinations in people. 
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—From Heffx report