University of Kentucky plant breeder Tim Phillips has developed a new tall fescue variety of hay that is nontoxic to grazing animals. The variety, Lacefield MaxQ II, is the result of selections Phillips, a member of the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, made from endophyte-free Kentucky 31 and related lines.
New non-toxic fescue hay to benefit horses
University of Kentucky plant breeder Tim Phillips has developed a new tall fescue hay variety that is nontoxic to grazing animals including equines and pregnant mares.
Phillips named the variety for UK Professor Emeritus Garry Lacefield upon his retirement to honor his numerous contributions to the forage industry and to the college.
Lacefield MaxQ II contains a novel endophyte developed by AgResearch in New Zealand. While active, the endophyte does not produce the ergot alkaloids that can cause fescue toxicosis, a disease that primarily affects cattle but can also negatively impact pregnant mares and milk producing goats.
The active alkaloids in the variety give it drought tolerance, insect resistance and help with vigor.
âIt has the persistence and performance of the endophyte found in Kentucky 31, but it doesnât have the bad qualities of that endophyte,â Phillips said. âItâs the best of both worlds.â
The variety has been tested for 12 years in on-farm trials at UKâs research farms, private Kentucky farms and farms located from Michigan to Mississippi. Phillips said it has tested well in all locations for seeding vigor, high yield potential, grazing tolerance, live weight gains by stocker cattle and resistance to winter injury.
âItâs Kentucky born, Kentucky bred and Kentucky proven to excel,â he said.
When compared with Jesup, the first commercially available tall fescue variety containing a novel endophyte, Lacefield MaxQ II was later flowering in Kentucky, which would allow it to be available to animals for a longer period of time.
Scientists in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forage-Animal Production Research Unit conducted the comparison study on UKâs C. Oran Little Research Farm in Versailles.
Article by Katie Pratt