Kentucky 32 Fescue ?

[triplejbarnes]

I was told that a new variety of fescue was coming out. It is Kentucky 32. It is supposed to be endophite free. Does anyone have any info on this?

 

[dun]

You don;t want endophyte free. What you want is one of the novel/friendly endophyte cultvars. The endophyte in 31 is what causes the problem but it ialso what gives it it's advantages

 

[kenny thomas]

Google NIXA Seed and Hardware in MO. They have it but I have not tried it. They do have some info.
If I remember it is an endophyte friendly variety from the KY 31.

 

[kerley]

So what's the score on the Ky31. Is it good pasture or not. Should K31 be planted with some other type of grass seed to make good pasture, or is K31 make poor pasture.
Tom.

 

[dun]

So what's the score on the Ky31. Is it good pasture or not. Should K31 be planted with some other type of grass seed to make good pasture, or is K31 make poor pasture.
Tom.

KY31 has it's problems but it also has it's advantages/benefits. Search CT for rndophyte and you'll get a tone of information.
Basicly it's ok if you also have something growing with it to dilute the toxicity during the worst parts of the year. Most peole mix in orchrd grass and red or white clover. You can get by just fine with the clover component as long as it's no more then 50% of the forage (bloat issues possible with more then that). Cattle that haven;t adapted to KY31 can have problems with the endophyte that range from a little less milk and growth all the way to foot problems and losing extremities. In some parts of the country if it wasn;t for KY31 there wouldn;t be a cattle industry. If you don;t have KY31 now, one of the novel.friendly endophyte cultivars would be the way to go. It is a cool season grass and grows best when the nights don't get above around 69 and days aren;t over around 75-78 degrees. It will still gorw with days in the mid 80s as long as it cools off at night but the growth is slower.

 

[western]

dun, have you used the novel endophyte variety and if so how old is your stand

 

[dun]

dun, have you used the novel endophyte variety and if so how old is your stand

Never used it, too expensive for me when the old KY31 works fine with our managment. Have a friend that tried it, he's had it in about 5 years if I remember correctly. He'll be replanting this year since it's pretty much given up the ghost. I'm not sure if it's the freindly or free that he planted though.
The literature just doesn;t sound all that prmising when you're talking 100 plus bucks an acre. If I remeber to do it tomorrow I'll call the local NRCS office, they've had a good number of people try it.

 

[Dap]

I planted an endophyte free fescue about 7 or 8 years ago. You could still see the drill rows 3 years later. It had no vigor whatsoever. I rotated it back to corn for 2 years, then reseeded with K31 and red clover which is doing very well. Some neighbors have tried the novel endophytes, and they aren't impressed with those either. K31 is hard to beat, especially if you can mix in some clover.

 

[Lucky_P]

I would NOT kill off my KY-31 to plant a no/low-endophyte strain of fescue - believe me, I learned the hard way; I drank the NRCS koolaid and killed out most of the well-established KY-31 on this farm to plant their recommended mix of orchardgrass/timothy/red clover - but I also put in some low-endophyte fescue and Ladino clover 'on my own dime'. Other than the Ladino clover, none of the others lasted more than 2-3 years. I'd never make that mistake again, or recommend it to anyone. Those EQUIP $$$ cost me more than I got out of them.
Far, far better to just keep clovers/lespedezas in the forage mix to dilute out the effects of the KY-31 endophyte and select cows that will perform on it.
Since I'm having to re-plant to restore something to take the place of the KY-31 I stupidly eliminated, I'm biting the bullet and planting a mix of Max-Q novel-endophyte fescue(10 lb/ac) and Persist orchardgrass(5 lb/ac) back into those depleted pastures, one at a time. So far, so good.

 

[dun]

dun, have you used the novel endophyte variety and if so how old is your stand

I stopped by NRCS yesterday and ask them about anyone that had planted the novel endophte fescue several years ago. In the county there were 4 people (that NRCS worked with) that planted it. All were disappointed with the establishment and have since over seeded/replaced it with KY31 and OG/clover mixtures

 

[western]

Thats what I've heard too... for all the hype (and money) about novel endophytes it really comes down to management (as always).

Thanks.

 

[dun]

Thats what I've heard too... for all the hype (and money) about novel endophytes it really comes down to management (as always).

Thanks.

I think a good share of luck is also involved. You can manage the snot out of the planting, soil prep, fertilization, etc. But if you get one of those years when even the weeds don;t grow well, trying to start grass is pretty darn futile.

 

[brandonm_13]

Personally, I wouldn't plant either variety. Novel endophyte is good as long as it lasts, although it's not nearly as palatable as orchardgrass or timothy, and if fescue grows in your area, you'll eventually get some, especially if you buy hay, which often has seedheads.

 

[Lucky_P]

I've watched my cows graze; here's what they eat, in order of preference, when they go into a new paddock:
1. Johnsongrass
2. Crabgrass
3. Plantain
4 . Fescue
5. Clovers
6 . Orchardgrass - it's about the last thing they'll eat, other than broomsedge.
Timothy? Who knows, 'cause other than the initial year after planting it (as a requirement of NRCS guidelines), it's all but absent from the sward.

 

[stephanieuk]

Hello

YES! YES! YES! If want to make more money you need to be planting endophyte "friendly" KY 31. There is a MAJOR difference in endophyte friendly and endophyte free.

The "free" will lose it's stand in about 5 years or less. The endophyte "friendly" will not. The novel endophyte is not man made, it's natural. It is not toxic to cattle, or horses. The average daily gain per head is 2 pounds per day per head. Add it up. It's a no brainer.

If you have a field of regular KY 31 and a field of a endophyte friendly WATCH the cows....everytime they run straight to the endophyte friendly. They eat! They love it! They feel better. It's truly a win win and your profits will increase.

You must kill out your field because the novel endophyte friendly looks no different than regular 31. There are plenty of fields across the US with 10+ years of this stuff. I'm sorry that everyone on here has not had experience with it or a good experience with it, but the person earlier was correct pasture management is the key to everything. With that being said, if you manage your pasture and have novel endophyte you will WIN!

Lots of people think you can just add legumes and supplements, but this still doesn't eliminate the affect of toxic fescue no matter what....If they are grazing on toxic 31, they are consuming toxins in turn costing you money period. Why work so hard to decrease affects, when you can eliminate them and make money in the process?

 

[KMacGinley]

I wonder if they sell seed?