Beneficial endophyte fescue?

[Heritagefarm]

I've heard a bunch about the new beneficial endophyte fescue. Has anyone used it yet? I don't think that would be possible yet, as the just developed it. I've seen the ad in the Stockman Grass Farmer for Bar Optima's fescue. Any thoughts?

[agmantoo]

We fescue growers have had a lot of "fixes" in the past for the endophyte related issues. None of the previous fixes worked very well IMO. At the price of trying to establish another proposed answer, I will be letting others get the benefits and the seed price drop before I get aboard the bandwagon. The endophyte fescue works so good for me that I think it is easier to learn how to cope with the endophyte than to switch to a yet to be proven replacement.

[Heritagefarm]

How do you live with harmful endophyte fescue, and does it effect small ruminants as well?

[myersfarm]

put out mineral special made for endophyte fescue

ear tag all cows when one comes up limping notch the ear tag....if it happens 2 times sell that cow.....so far in 15 years sold 5 or 6 head

now if they tell you how bad it hurts your cows they are in the seed business

you have to disk up your whole farm or keep cows off non fescue for 3 days before leting them on the non......


the non is not a strong as the infected so if one seed comes up of infected it will take back over

look at the results they usually recommind replanting every 5 years or at least they did

[agmantoo]

What Myersfarm said plus plant companion legumes and keep seed heads clipped.

You may want to thoroughly study Table 1 in this article

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-...44ecf9193a43bc