Gene Schmitz
Field Livestock Specialist
One of the most often heard complaints about cool-season grasses, and tall fescue in particular, is broadly called the “summer slump”. This refers to forage growth, forage quality and livestock performance on toxic tall fescue during the summer months.
An obvious solution to the problem is to have livestock graze on other forage types during the summer months. Native warm season grasses (NWSG) correct summer slump issues by having non-toxic, high quality, and high yielding forage available from mid-June through early September.
Many livestock producers are not familiar with these forages and how they fit into a total forage management system. NWSG plots have been established at State Fair Community College in Sedalia to allow producers to see various species of these grasses. We are also gathering yield and forage quality information from these plots in order to compare productivity with more traditional cool-season grass hay fields.
A pasture walk has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 7 p.m. at the plots in Sedalia. This will give producer’s a hands-on opportunity to see at how these forages compare with more traditional pasture and hay forage species. Establishment and management techniques as well as forage yield and quality data will be shared.
More information on the pasture walk can be obtained by contacting me by e-mail at schmitze@missouri.edu or by calling the Pettis County Extension Center at (660) 827-0591.
This NWSG project is sponsored by MU Extension, State Fair Community College, Missouri Department of Conservation, and the NRCS/MU Extension Grasslands Project. This informal program is free and open to all.
