Enhancing the Sustainability of Tall Fescue Forage Systems for Beef Cattle Production with Non-Toxic Endophyte Technology

Enhancing the Sustainability of Tall Fescue Forage Systems for Beef Cattle Production with Non-Toxic Endophyte Technology

Accomplishments/Milestones

Three year grazing studies comparing stocker cattle growth performance on non-ergot alkaloid-producing endophyte-infected tall fescue, endophyte-free tall fescue, and wild-type toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue were concluded at two Georgia research locations.

Research findings on cattle performance grazing non-ergot alkaloid-producing tall fescue pastures were presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science in Orlando, Florida in February 2002.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Reduced animal growth and reproductive performance from tall fescue toxicosis costs the United States beef industry in excess of $600 million per year. The impacts of tall fescue toxicosis are widespread in the southeastern U.S. since it is an area of major tall fescue use. Until recently, use of non-toxic endophyte-free (E-) tall fescue as a replacement for toxic endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue was one of the few options for alleviating tall fescue toxicosis. However, plant persistence advantages from endophyte presence are sacrificed, and E- forage stands do not tolerate poor grazing management. Non-ergot alkaloid-producing endophyte-infected or "friendly" tall fescue emerged as a forage option that capitalizes on endophyte-dependent plant persistence advantages without toxicity problems in grazing livestock. This technology eliminates the tradeoff between either excellent plant persistence or animal performance in tall fescue pastures. This research project is a component of the initial research effort in the U.S. to evaluate animal performance on non-ergot alkaloid-producing endophyte-infected tall fescue. Research findings from this study indicate that non-ergot alkaloid-producing endophyte-infected tall fescue pastures provide similar cattle growth performance as E- tall fescue pastures and superior growth performance over E+ tall fescue pastures. This is consistent with research results in grazing lambs. Renovation of E+ tall fescue pastures with non-ergot alkaloid-producing endophyte-infected (MaxQ, Pennington Seed, Inc., Madison, GA) tall fescue appears to be a viable option for alleviating tall fescue toxicosis.