Endophyte and goats?

[mammabooh]

Could someone please explain the whole endophyte thing to me? What happens if a goat eats it and how much does it take to hurt them? Is there a way to test my pasture for it?

Thanks!

[Alice In TX/MO]

This is about other species, but I think it's the explanation:
http://www.caf.wvu.edu/~forage/fescu...htye/Story.htm

[mammabooh]

Thanks for the link, Alice.

So, I'm gathering that legumes in the pasture are a good thing to have if there is tall fescue. The area that will be our pasture is probably 25% white clover, 5-10% red clover, 15% tall fescue, and then the rest is made up of several other grasses and dandelion. Does this sound decent for goats? It's a lot better than it was last year...there is much more clover and is in general much thicker than it was.

[billooo2]

If you call the local office of.........I am not sure what the name is now...it used to be called "soil conservation"........now I think it has the initials, "NRCS." I called and a person came out, and looked at my fields and gave me some suggestions and options.
He said that if I lime and fertilize (after soil testing), then some of the more desireable species start to grow a lot better, and some of the less desireable species tend to diminish. In do not know if that means that tall fescue would diminish.
It seems that I read somewhere that the lower parts of fescue are the more toxic parts of the plant, and if it gets grazed too closely, then you have more problems. But I don't remember where I read that.