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Cattle producers obviously want to make money, but they must deal with bad markets that can be right around the corner, and they continue to be a drought or flood away from a financial crisis. So what is it that keeps them going? It must be in their blood. Why would they be in the business if they did not take pride in their cattle by wanting their cows to maintain body condition, their calves to grow, and all of the cattle having a healthy appearance?
The focus for graziers has always been on forage quality in meeting the nutrient requirements of pastured cattle.
The content of crude protein, neutral- and acid-detergent fiber (structural carbohydrates), water-soluble carbohydrates, crude fiber and minerals in a specific forage has been used for estimating forage quality and for formulating supplemental concentrate rations.
Kentucky was covered mostly by trees, briars, broadleaf weeds and very little forage when the original cultivar of tall fescue, Kentucky 31, was commercially released in 1943. However, in the early 1950s, cattle producers began to complain that their cattle did not perform well on tall fescue and lacked thriftiness in warm temperatures. But it was not until the early 1980s that it was discovered that most tall fescue plants are infected with a fungal endophyte.
People have always used food to overcome illness and improve health. Human nutritionists have recently started calling foods with medicinal value functional foods. We borrowed that idea to look for a functional feed, a plant, or plant-based product, which could be used to achieve the same benefit as antibiotic growth promoters.
Tall fescue is a cool-season perennial grass that is productive and well adapted to the soils and climate in a region of the U.S. commonly called the “fescue belt.”
Management decisions that impact forage availability, such as forage species/cultivar to plant, fertilizer and weed control needs, along with herd genetics, are very important to the bottom line of any cattle farm.
