School Me on Fescue

I read very little good about fescue, yet is is produced in massive quantities for hay and grazing forage. Horse folks hate it, cattle people speak lameness and fescue foot. Why is it so prevalent and in many ways dominating amongst hay and forage crops?

Is there any redeeming value in growing and feeding fescue hay? What is the attraction to fescue?

Just curious.

Thanks,
Bill

I have good bit of Fescue on my place and I do not really like it but it is super hard to get rid of. The stuff grows in most any type of soil so that is one big reason you tend to see a lot of it.

Over the years I have tried to plant clover and other such thing to slowly push the fescue out and it is working

Clumps, like Dallas Grass. If you are mowing over it your back will hate you and it. Prolific seed pods, too much of it is said to be toxic. I don't remember the details but you probably can get a www answer to the toxicity problem, cause and effect. But it is a strong grower and hardy.

I'm in KY not too far and virtually all pastures and the majority of hay ground is KY 31 Fescue. It is easy to establish, requires little maintenance, and with lime and fertilizer produces well.

It is definitely beneficial to add legumes, like clovers. Also mixing with orchard grass will improve hay quality dramaticly. The problem with orchard grass around here is it only lasts 3-4 years.

The endophite free fescues are very expensive and die out in only a few years.

The seed is not toxic, there is a rust or something like that, that if it infects the plant can make too much of it toxic, it only clumps if not sowed thick enough. Also in kentucky and never had any problem with it. Most mix it with red clover and it makes a really good hay if cut on time. Most pastures around here are fescue.

Supposedly fescue like 31 can cause miss carriage in horses. I replanted my field 8-10 years ago with a local seed supply stores pasture mix. Had fescue in the mix but wasnt the 31. Couple years ago customer of mine came to me and asked if the grass i was selling him had fescue in it. I said yes. Well he accused me "kindly" of the hay causing problems with his horses dropping foals. I called the seed company they told me that that mix has fescue but not the one that causes problems and they would send me a certified seed certificate that said that that mix I planted did not contain that type of fescue. Well long and short of this story is I lost his business even though I had the proof but he couldnt get it out of his head that the hay I sold him was bad. O.K. no hard feelings I can always sell to someone else.

THe seed company did tell me the kentucky 31 is not recommended for foiling mares...

THe question I always wanted to know is how many pastures around the country have 31 in it and folks pasture on it all the time?? esp old stands.. lol

oh well.. on another note sold some bales to a lady that came back with a stock of timothy with the head and said how dare I sale here foxtail.. lmao...I schooled her on that one also...lol

It is known to cause problems with nursing horses and cattle is one reason many do not like it but if mixed with other grasses and clover it can be ok

About every roadside in the Midwest is 31,my yard is 31. It is really hard to kill,it will go dormant when it stops raining, and be green two hours after the first rain. If you clip the pastures short in the fall the chance of hoof rot is a lot slimmer,wet springs and over grown fescue will take the hoofs off of livestock.