Fescue Conversion
Tools available to help convert pastures.
Above: Westminster, S.C., cattleman Joe Davis (right with Joe Burns, left) estimates his payback time in the piedmont of South Carolina is five to six years at the most, but says, “I really believe it is closer to three to four years.” |
Even with all the advantages, converting a pasture from Kentucky 31 fescue to novel endophyte fescue is neither for the cash-strapped nor the impatient. If you aren’t in a position to do all your pastures, University of Missouri State Forage Specialist Craig Roberts recommends converting 25% to novel endophyte fescue, which does not produce the toxic ergot alkaloids that causes fescue toxicosis, and using those acres for your spring-calving cows.
However, he jokes, “It is a gateway drug.”
North Carolina State University Beef Cattle and Forage Extension Specialist Matt Poore uses both Kentucky 31 and novel endophyte fescue in his family operation in Virginia.
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“Conversion to novel endophyte fescue without good management practices in herd health, managed grazing and controlled breeding is a waste of money,” says Joe Davis. |
“The payback for renovating the 25% of your pastures that really need renovating is 1.5 years,” he says. For more than that, it depends on geography. In Missouri, the payback time is around 4.7 years, but it’s 5.5 years on the East Coast.
Westminster, S.C., cattleman Joe Davis estimates his payback time in the piedmont of South Carolina is five to six years at the most, but says, “I really believe it is closer to three to four years.”
Poore says: “If you have fescue foot in your herd, or a 75% breeding rate, it pays quicker. If you have a 95% breeding rate and no fescue foot, it takes longer to pay back.”
Matthew Burns, Clemson University beef specialist, says it is also a case of first things first.
“Producers have to be willing to do the small things right,” he says. “They need to have a defined breeding season, take soil samples and get the basics of grazing and beef management down. Those things can make a bigger impact on their operation.”
Davis agrees: “Conversion to novel endophyte fescue without good management practices in herd health, managed grazing and controlled breeding is a waste of money.”
However, Burns says, “If someone is getting started in the cattle business, or has a pasture that needs renovating, they are much better off planting novel endophyte fescue.”
Editor’s note: Read more about fescue conversion and the benefits in cattle performance in “Fescue Detox” in the April Angus Beef Bulletin. Subscribe at www.angus.org/ABBsubscribe.
Help is on the way
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If you’d like to learn more about converting your toxic Kentucky 31 fescue to novel endophyte fescue, including the actual conversion process and follow-up pasture management, and/or you need help in managing the toxic fescue you now have, you’re in luck.
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal (www.grasslandrenewal.org) is made up of universities in the fescue belt (Missouri, Kentucky, Clemson and North Carolina State), seed companies, related businesses and non-profit groups, including the Noble Research Institute. The alliance will be hosting workshops this spring.
Here’s the rundown:
One-day schools
Registration at 8:30 a.m.
Schools run 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Registration fee includes meal, refreshments and proceedings.
- Monday, March 11, 2019
- Virginia Tech
Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center
2375 Darvills Rd., Blackstone, Va.
Registration before March 1, 2019: $70 per person or $100 for two people from same farm
Registration after March 1, 2019: $85 per person or $120 for two people from same farm
Schedule: http://grasslandrenewal.org/PDF/Virginia2019.pdf
Register: https://vaforages.org/events/
For more information, contact Margaret Kenny at 434-321-9272 or vfgcforages@gmail.com
- Tuesday, March 12, 2019
- North Carolina State University
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
11020 North Carolina Hwy. 801, Mt. Ulla, NC
Registration before March 1, 2019: $70 per person or $100 per two people from same farm
Registration after March 1, 2019: $85 per person or $120 per two people from same farm
NCSU Flyer and Schedule, http://grasslandrenewal.org/PDF/NorthCarolina2019.pdf
NCSU Online Registration: https://bit.ly/2HSatww
For more information, contact April Shaeffer at 606-407-2006 or april_shaeffer@ncsu.edu
- Wednesday, March 13, 2019
- Clemson University
Helena Community Center
902 Giff St., Newberry, SC
Enrollment limited to first 50 registrants
Registration before March 1, 2019: $70 per person or $100 per two people from same farm
Registration after March 1, 2019: $85 per person or $120 per two people from same farm
Clemson Schedule: http://grasslandrenewal.org/PDF/SouthCarolina2019.pdf
Register: https://bit.ly/2UYgVE3
For more information, contact Jennifer Arblaster at 864-656-2530 or jarblst@clemson.edu
- Friday, March 15, 2019
- University of Georgia
Gordon County Extension Office
1282 SR 53 Spur SW Suite 200, Calhoun, GA
Enrollment limited to first 70 registrants
Registration before March 1, 2019: $70 per person or $100 per two people from same farm
Registration after March 1, 2019: $85 per person or $120 per two people from same farm
UGA Schedule: http://grasslandrenewal.org/PDF/Georgia2019.pdf
Register: https://bit.ly/2Dh8uir
For more information, contact Cathy Felton at 706-310-3464 or feltonc@uga.edu
- Monday, March 18, 2019
- University of Missouri
Southwest Research Center
14548 Hwy H, Mt. Vernon, MO
Enrollment limited to first 50 registrants
Registration before March 8, 2019: $70 per person or $100 per two people from same farm
Registration after March 8, 2019: $85 per person or $120 per two people from same farm
MU Schedule: http://grasslandrenewal.org/PDF/Missouri2019.pdf
For more information, contact Jendel Wolfe at 417-466-2148 ext: 21 or wolfejl@missouri.edu
- Wednesday, March 20, 2019
- University of Kentucky
Fellowship Hall, Central Presbyterian Church
206 W. Main St., Princeton, KY
Registration before March 8, 2019: $60 per person
Registration after March 8, 2019: $75 per person
Kentucky Schedule http://grasslandrenewal.org/PDF/Kentucky2019.pdf;
Register: https://bit.ly/2SHfdug;
For more information, contact Krista Lea at 859-257-0597 or Krista.lea1@uky.edu
Agenda Items
- Fescue toxicosis: Symptoms and causes
- Economics of pasture renewal
- Establishment and first-year management
- Microscope view of endophyte in tall fescue
- Seed drill calibration
- Seed and endophyte quality and testing
- Transition from toxic to non-toxic fescue
- Tour of field plots
- On-farm economics (video)
- Products available (seed companies)
- Financial incentives (cost-share)
- Producer panel discussions
