#LHB#
Well-known member
Were looking to plant some kind of fescue into our aging bermuda grass stand here in NC. Do we just need to go with Kentucky 31 or is there something new and better out there? Thanks for the help.
Best fescue to plant
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Lucky_P
Well-known member
Look at some of the 'novel endophyte' varieties - MaxQ, ArkPlus, etc.
Pricey, compared to KY-31, but if you're starting with a 'blank slate', probably worth the extra expense.
I would not, however, recommend killing out a good, established stand of KY-31 to plant 'em. Been there, done that. It was a mistake.
Don't - however - bother with the low/endophyte/endophyte-free varieties. Low seedling vigor, they don't stand up to any sort of grazing pressure, and turn toes-up at the first hint of drought. They may be OK for an irrigated hayfield, but not in a pasture setting in the Southeast, IMO.
Pricey, compared to KY-31, but if you're starting with a 'blank slate', probably worth the extra expense.
I would not, however, recommend killing out a good, established stand of KY-31 to plant 'em. Been there, done that. It was a mistake.
Don't - however - bother with the low/endophyte/endophyte-free varieties. Low seedling vigor, they don't stand up to any sort of grazing pressure, and turn toes-up at the first hint of drought. They may be OK for an irrigated hayfield, but not in a pasture setting in the Southeast, IMO.
u4411clb
Well-known member
Try Kentucky 32 and make sure you get a good clover mix in there as well no matter what type of fescue you choose.
Go with ky31, hands down. Its a great grass forage for your herd. Its more drought tolerant, and tolerates closer grazing better. Fescue has caught a bad rap in the past few years bc ppl are scared of the endophyte fungus thats found in the plant. However there are a few things that greatly minamize the endophytes affect in cattle, such as planting legumes like clover. The clover mostly eradicates all the negative side effects of the endophyte. Also the endophyte is mostly concentrated in the seedhead of fescue, so mowing or grazing your fescue before it developes a seedhead will keep cattle from ingesting it. Also grazzing the fescue when its in its leafy state, before seedhead development insures optomim quality of the forage. And my last pt. is the endophtye in the fescue is most prevelent in the spring time, so you may notice less breeding success in the spring as you would in the fall.
Both lucky_p and luke make excellent points. If there is no KY31 close by AND you never plan on buying in any fescue hay I would say one of the novel endophytes would work well. Otherwise I would just go with KY31 and use a geenrous amount of red or white clover with it. Your local NRCS office should have a pamphlet/book that gives the ratios in PLS of fescue and clover to plant.
Red Bull Breeder
Well-known member
A good mineral with CTC will help cattle on fescue alot.
#LHB#
Well-known member
Ok thanks everyone. We still have right much bermuda left out there and were not going to kill it off and plant all fescue but we have got to get something elese established out there. It dosent have to be fescue but it seemed like the best option. Is there another grass yaw would consider planting?
Lucky_P
Well-known member
Persist Orchardgrass. I've been planting a mix of Max-Q fescue and Persist orchardgrass - palatability/acceptance has been much better with Persist than with other OGs I'd planted previously; OG used to be the absolute LAST thing the cows would touch.
Usually also put on 5 lb red clover and 2 lb white/Ladino clover per acre. With fertilizer costs as they are currently, maintaining a stand of clovers - both for N-fixation and improved forage quality, is a no-brainer.
There's a mounting bank of evidence to suggest that animal gains/performance on the novel endophyte fescues is worth the expense of killing off high-endophyte stands and making the transition - but I'm not sure I'm buying it.
I'll probably never stop regretting killing off my KY-31, but it's a done deal, and we've pretty well re-done the whole farm with MaxQ now.
It's an old saw that dies hard, but high-endophyte fescue doesn't really 'invade' new seedings of low/free or novel endophyte varieties - but, if burn-down of existing stands was not complete, and the existing seedbank of the previous year's seed production was not depleted by intercropping between burndown and replanting - then you can have recovery or re-emergence of high-endophyte fescue, which has several 'advantages' over low/no endophyte fescues - in the form of greater seedling vigor, lower palatability(doesn't taste as good, so it doesn't get grazed, and has the opportunity to build root reserves faster), and drought resistance.
Usually also put on 5 lb red clover and 2 lb white/Ladino clover per acre. With fertilizer costs as they are currently, maintaining a stand of clovers - both for N-fixation and improved forage quality, is a no-brainer.
There's a mounting bank of evidence to suggest that animal gains/performance on the novel endophyte fescues is worth the expense of killing off high-endophyte stands and making the transition - but I'm not sure I'm buying it.
I'll probably never stop regretting killing off my KY-31, but it's a done deal, and we've pretty well re-done the whole farm with MaxQ now.
It's an old saw that dies hard, but high-endophyte fescue doesn't really 'invade' new seedings of low/free or novel endophyte varieties - but, if burn-down of existing stands was not complete, and the existing seedbank of the previous year's seed production was not depleted by intercropping between burndown and replanting - then you can have recovery or re-emergence of high-endophyte fescue, which has several 'advantages' over low/no endophyte fescues - in the form of greater seedling vigor, lower palatability(doesn't taste as good, so it doesn't get grazed, and has the opportunity to build root reserves faster), and drought resistance.
