Tall fescue "turf" type grasses for pasture?

[subk]

The only fescue farm supply stores carry around here for pasture is KY31. I’ve talked to some turf guys (lawn and golf course suppliers) about one of their seed blends (3 different tall fescues) for pasture. They of course drew a blank as to how it would work for pasture other than it was NOT endofite free. I won’t have mares on the property much less pregnant ones, so I don’t think that’s an issue. Durability might be, but I typically have 2-4 horses on 20 acres divided into 3 fields with basic rotation.

Of course, the turf guys think KY31 is undesirable, but more specifically say it is generally sold as a low quality seed in terms of germination rates and first year survivability. This might be why I’m not seeing much success in over seeding. I’m trying some of their blend this fall in my non pasture grassy areas, but would anyone have any concern about using it in pastures next if it grows better?

[mmeqcenter]

Fescues are, I believe, usually pretty hardy grasses that make good pastures.
However, there is the endophyte issue you mentioned.
You may not have any pregnant mares (now), but what about resale value? It is expensive to rip up sod and completely reseed. I bought my farm last year, and passed on several others due to the pastures being fescue.

[neversaynever]

In TN even if you plant non-endophyte fescue, it will creep back in. Orchard grass, unless you reseed, will thin out after 2-3 years. Timothy is the same. Around here for cool-season grasses, fescue is the one most used because it can stand up to grazing better. It goes dormant in the warmer months from June through September and again in the cold part of winter (late Dec through Feb). If you don’t keep them from grazing the cool season grasses down below 3 inches, you will have thinning and weeds creeping in. Prolonged periods of no precipitation will also mess up your pastures. Last year’s drought killed off most of my cool-season grasses. You could talk to the folks at your local extension service or at UT to find out what they think about the turfgrass varieties of fescue and pastures.

https://extension.tennessee.edu/publ…nts/PB1651.pdf

I have 4 horses and about 12 acres fenced, divided into 4 pastures… Because of the wet winters and muddy pastures at my place, I usually end up giving my horses hay for most of the late fall to early spring months and keep them off most of the pasture. Otherwise, they will tear it up. That means, the cool season grasses at my place are only really grazable for a few months unless I want to do more maintenance. I have been changing two of the pastures over to more warm-season grasses. So far, those are the ones that seem to require the least amount of babying. I love my crabgrass. I have to reseed the cool season pastures again this year. Drilling the seed results in so much better germination then broadcast, as does timing and light rain. You also have to keep the horses off the pasture for months so the grass can establish.

ETA, your local farmer’s co-op will have several different varieties of tall fescue seed, other than Ky-31, that are for forage. They can also order if they don’t have any in stock. They may be able to tell you their experiences with the different varieties also.

[Montanas_Girl]

If you don’t plan on having broodmares, then KY31 is probably the hardiest, most economical option for you. As @neversaynever pointed out, there’s really no such thing as an endophyte-infected fescue free field in the southeast - not for long, anyway!

I have no idea if what the sales guys were telling you about the germination rates is true, but, even at a higher seeding rate (if that’s actually needed), KY31 will probably still be cheaper than the turf-type fescue seeds, and it will be better suited for forage production/pasture traffic.