Logan Wallace, newly hired Livestock Extension Agent located in Howell County, spoke at the South Central Cattlemen’s Association meeting August 19. His topic, ‘Fighting the Fescue,’ gave producers the opportunity to think about some of the ways to use fescue in their operations and avoid fescue’s problems like ‘summer slump,’ and others.
“Most of the tall fescue in the United States is considered high endophyte-infected fescue. When cattle graze this fescue in the summer, they generally have weight loss and decreased gains, decreased milk production and lower pregnancy rates,” he explained.
“All these issues can affect producers, and ultimately affect their profits,” he added. “Fescue is a cool season grass and the most widely used forage for most cattle producers, however, most of it in infected with the fungus.”
He explained that we all know what the negative effects are, but many don’t know how to combat these issues. “Some of the ways to reduce these effects include diluting pasture land with legumes and warm season grasses, try early weaning of calves to allow cows to recondition, adding feed supplements and then there is the novel fescue that is available.
“By adding warm season grasses and legumes to your fields, this will allow more variety for cattle,” Wallace said. “Bermuda, Caucasian blue stem and even novel fescue are being seen more and more in the pastures. With this forage being available producers see less of the ‘Summer Slump’ effect on their animals – of course these still need rain too.”
Early weaning is another suggestion to help avoid the effects. “By weaning calves at 140 to 150 days, this allows the cows to recondition before breeding season and allows the calves time off the cow to continue to grow. Also, 400 pound calves have a better conversion rate on feed than the 1,200-1,600 pound cow does, so you’re maximizing your feed intake as well,” he stated.
Feed supplements suggestions include using by products, soybean hulls, cotton seed hulls or brewers grain for additional intake for cattle. “There is also the opportunity for specific fescue supplements with endo-fighters that are being tried out. Unfortunately, there is still more research needed to determine if these are beneficial,” he added.
This is also a concern with the novel, fungus-free fescue that is available. “It’s out there, but it’s very expensive and many time with large farms, would be too costly to replace all the current fescue,” he explained. “At the same time, you have to look at it as a long-term investment and identify the benefits of average daily gain and pregnancy rates to determine if it’s a good choice for you.”
According to Wallace, this is not a new challenge for producers. “Kentucky 31 fescue was first discovered in 1931 and widely promoted across the United States in the mid-40s and spread into most pasture lands by the 1950s.”
Overtime though, producers began to see concerns such as weight loss and decreased pregnancy rates, and the overall grazing performance of cattle on the fescue was disappointing.
“Studies conducted have said that yearly there are almost $600 million in losses due to infected fescue in the United States,” Wallace said. “This is figured in terms of decreased daily gains, low pregnancy rates and the general condition of the animals. We know this is a problem, and hopefully, this information has provided some food for thought. Every operation is different in what will meet their needs and work, but one thing’s for sure – no matter what kind of pasture you have, it always needs rain,” he added.
