Amazing Grazing continued from page 18 Other advantages to novel endophyte tall fescue - There are some other great benefits to getting the fescue toxins out of animals, including improved animal health and welfare. While rate of gain is important to me as a farmer, what really motivates me is improving the welfare of my cattle. When I first saw cattle on our farm that had been off toxic fescue all spring and summer, it amazed me. They were comfortable standing out in the sun at 90º, grazing ryegrass. At the same time, the mature cows who were grazing toxic fescue were miserable, standing or laying in mudholes they had made in the shade. I will never forget that, and it motivated me to spray out more of the old KY-31 pastures. Novel endophyte tall fescue is also better than KY-31 for wildlife and the environment. The toxins the endophyte produces also have an impact on wildlife that directly consume the plant, including dung beetles, deer, small mammals, etc. Also, water quality and riparian environments are impacted when livestock eat toxic tall fescue because they loaf in the water to alleviate their heat stress. This is not a normal behavior but is accepted as such because it is such a common sight. Not Your Daddy’s novel endophyte tall fescue - Today, there have been advances made in the Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue products on the market. The original MaxQ from Pennington Seed was introduced over 20 years ago, and it was a great performer. Today, Pennington has replaced the original endophyte in MaxQ with a new endophyte called MaxQII. MaxQII is paired with three varieties, including Jesup, Texoma, and Lacefield. Other companies also have
competing products, including Martin2Protek and TowerProtek from DLF Pickseed, Estancia with ArkShield from Mountain View Seeds, and BarOptima plus E34 from Barenbrug USA. Each of these products has its own characteristics, and you should study some before selecting a variety. A new fact sheet, available from N.C. Cooperative Extension, tells a lot more about the origins and applications of these great products. This fact sheet can be found at https://content.ces. ncsu.edu/comparison-of-commerciallyavailable-novel-endophyte-tall-fescueforage-varieties or by just searching for novel endophyte tall fescue and N.C. Cooperative Extension. What about diverse forage mixtures? One thing we have questions about is whether novel endophyte tall fescue can be part of a good perennial pasture seed mix. While some farmers will want a pasture that is primarily tall fescue, many believe in the benefits of plant diversity. You might think that if toxic tall fescue was only a part of the forage stand that it would not be as toxic. The problem is that toxic tall fescue is a bully from an ecological perspective. Because animals don’t really like it, they eat everything else, making the fescue stronger. Furthermore, there are additional mechanisms not completely understood that make toxic fescue dominate in mixed stands. Research has shown that novel endophyte tall fescue will make a better companion plant than toxic fescue for other forages while still providing the abundant winter grazing that we come to expect from tall fescue.
I am a big fan of mixtures as that is what we have on the pastures at home. In addition to tall fescue, most pastures have orchardgrass, bluegrass, dallisgrass, bermudagrass, red clover, white clover, and many other minor species. If it were not for the toxic fescue, these would be really nice pastures. How to convert a pasture like that to a similar mix without toxic fescue is a current topic of discussion. Just do something about it this year. Back to my New Year’s Resolution. I have spent the last 30 years trying to work around toxic KY-31 tall fescue on
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our farm. It seems no matter what we do, most of our problems are still related to tall fescue. We have killed the KY-31 on about 20 percent of our acres where we are growing annuals, and that has really helped us with our heifer development program, but we still have a long way to go. This year, I want to kill another 30 acres where we can grow annuals and plant 30 acres to a perennial mix containing novel endophyte tall fescue. If you are fed up with the effects of toxic tall fescue, too, then join me and take action and do something about it this year!
for more than 11 years, where she provided integral support across multiple departments. Prior to joining Alltech, she served in various program and customer service management roles, primarily in the automotive industry. “Our Alltech team is dedicated to providing our customers with ongoing improvements to their service experience,” said Brian McCawley, chief commercialization officer for Alltech. “Kristina’s experience and drive to provide timely, attentive and positive service has made her a great asset to both our customers and our internal team, and I can’t think of anyone better suited for this role.” Kristina will be based at Alltech’s headquarters near Lexington, Kentucky. She can be reached at 859-881-2288 or klukehart@alltech.com. About Alltech. Founded in 1980 by Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech delivers smarter, more sustainable solutions for agriculture. Our products improve the health and performance of plants and animals, resulting in better nutrition for consumers and a decreased environmental impact. We are a global leader in the animal health industry, producing specialty ingredients, premix supplements, feed, and complete feed. Strengthened by more than 40 years of scientific research, we carry forward a legacy of innovation and a unique culture that views challenges through an entrepreneurial lens. Alltech is a private, family owned company, which allows us to adapt quickly to our customers’ needs and maintain focus on advanced innovation. Headquartered just outside of Lexington, Ken., Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world. For more information, visit www.alltech.com.
