Oregon Grown Grass Seed

Tall Fescue For Palatable Pastures

Tall fescue is the most widely used grass for cultivated pastures. While tall fescue establishes more slowly than ryegrass, once established it is the most durable of forage grasses. Tall fescue has a long growing season, establishes a dense sod that is very resistant to trampling by grazing animals, persists perennially over a long period, and thrives in a variety of soil types and conditions. Tall fescue pastures give a good return for minimal management investment.

Tall fescue is also desirable because it is more drought tolerant than ryegrass. Once established, tall fescue roots reach 1 to 2 meters deep, stabilizing soil, and drawing sub-surface moisture.

Today’s pasture-type tall fescues show considerable advancement over earlier varieties such as Kentucky-31. Nutrition, palatability, finer leaves, disease resistance and yield are characteristic improvements. Most new varieties have reduced endophyte, or are totally without endophyte fungus, resulting in animals free from fescue toxicosis and its complications.

Endophyte-free tall fescue varieties also increase Average Daily Gain in steers over prior types. Dairy and beef cows produce more milk when grazing on endophyte-free fescue. Older pastures are being renovated and replanted with endophyte-free varieties of tall fescue. New, improved varieties are seeded using a variety of techniques from complete seed bed preparation to slit seeding.

Tall fescue is compatible with other species to maximize forage production in the same pasture. Legumes will help increase weaning weights of calves and improve conception rate of cows. Legumes reduce the need for additional nitrogen in a tall fescue pasture.

Tall fescue establishes a nutritious, easy to maintain, drought tolerant pasture with resistance to trampling.

Oregon Seed Council

503-585-1157 / Fax 503-585-1292
1193 Royvonne Avenue South, Suite 11
Salem, Oregon 97302