# Fescue Preferences



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Fescue....not a favorite of beef according to this study.

Regards, Mike

http://hayandforage.com/livestock/cattle-don-t-prefer-friendly-fescues


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Thanks Mike. The results are interesting. I have always believed most livestock preferred Bermuda over most grasses. I was listening to a speaker talk about forages and he said cattle preferred Fescue, Bahia and Bermuda, in that order. His information came from some University grazing observations.

At one time we had a 40 acre pasture with Fescue and Bahia. The adjoining pasture was Bermuda. The cattle stayed in the Bermuda more than the Fescue/Bahia. It struck me odd that research had shown opposite from what we had seen.


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

It is amazing the dollars spent on research and some of the conclusions they come to, when most any observant farmer or rancher could have already told them. Also European, New Zealand, and Australian grazing/grass experts and researchers consider much of the US grazing/grass research a joke. On the other hand, our corn and soybean knowledge and research makes them look silly.

There are huge differences in tall fescue varieties, more so than most other species.

I don't think any of the companies with novel/friendly/beneficial endophyte tall fescues market them as being more palatable than other species because of the endo-free. There are some varieties that have been bred for softer leaves and higher digestability, but that is not tied to endophytes. But they are still tall fescue, and will probably never be as palatable as most other species.

There is research out there from several states that show that there is a palatability difference between standard and soft leaf varieties whether they are endo-free or novel/friendly/beneficial endophyte types.


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/resdata/graze_table.htm

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CGkQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.caes.uga.edu%2Fcommodities%2Ffieldcrops%2Fforages%2Fdocuments%2FGC9601.pdf&ei=-SsqU9DlNcb_oQTxzIG4Bg&usg=AFQjCNGmP3sKW-fedH1_I-MwgFbd3aJmyw&sig2=O8FVYgRWr4iC47YAGSR7Tw&bvm=bv.63316862,d.cGU


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