Novel endophyte tall fescue is good alternative forage whether you have horses, cattle or small ruminants. Below are some things to consider if you are thinking about converting part of your farm into novel endophyte tall fescue.

Our typical pastures in N.C. or Rowan County are Kentucky 31 fescue, and we have to deal with the issues that come with grazing that. Kentucky 31 fescue has a place in our grazing systems but with research, there have been studies that show adding other types of grasses to graze when endophyte is at the highest levels (May and June) show a lot of added benefits.

Why would we want to think about transitioning some of our pastures to a novel endophyte tall fescue instead of keeping it in Kentucky 31 tall fescue? The main reason is because of fescue toxicosis. From a health standpoint, it can cause vasoconstriction, fescue foot, fat necrosis and poor thermoregulation; from a production standpoint, it can cause low feed intake and rate of gain, low birth weight and weaning weight, dystocia and poor milk production.

When doing this, it is important to start with a clean slate. You want to make sure you don’t plant into a pasture that has Kentucky 31 still growing. Below are our four recommendations for getting rid of Kentucky 31 before planting novel endophyte tall fescue.

1. Spray, smother, spray: Summer smother involves spraying your tall fescue in late spring to kill the old stand and weeds, planting a smother crop like peal millet or Sudan to graze off of in the summer, and coming back and spraying again late summer/early fall to kill the smother crop, weeds, volunteer seed and escape tillers. You can then plant your novel fescue that fall with a no-till drill.
2. Spray, smother, spray: Winter smother involves spraying your old stand and weeds in early fall and planting a smother crop like barley, triticale or cereal rye (avoiding annual rye grass). Do your second spray in late spring to kill smother crop escapes and other weeds. You may also have to do another spray in late summer to get those fallow weeds, volunteer seedlings and escape tiller. Then, you can plant that novel crop in fall.
3. The third option is if you think planting a smother crop is too cost intensive and you just want to wait it out. This method is spray, wait spray. You would clip your tall fescue in late spring and spray during the summer (or at least six-seven weeks before planting your novel fescue). Four-six weeks after your first spray, you need to spray again to get weeds, volunteer seedlings and escape tillers. You can then plant your novel fescue that fall.
4. The last method is the least recommended, but it has a place in certain situations. This is the prepared seedbed method. You would go through and do a clean till with this method before planting.

Some tips to keep in mind to help make this project successful: make sure you calibrate your drill, check your planting depth and press wheel pressure, make sure your moisture conditions are optimum, and check soil fertility. After establishment, consider making hay the first year, and take the cutting before June.

If you want to discuss specifics for your farm, please contact me. We can look at the cost for preparation and to plant and what your years to payback will be. We can also see what pastures might be the best to start in novel fescue given your operation and goals. While I still think we need some of our pastures in Kentucky 31, novel endophyte tall fescue is a great tool to add.

To discuss options for your farm, please call Morgan Watts at 704-216-8970, or email amwatts@ncsu.edu. Or, you can always stop by 2727-A Old Concord Road.