On June 23rd, Endeavor Farm hosted the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Equine Field Day. This event allowed guests the opportunity to experience what a real-world farm can accomplish if they take a little bit of advice and stick to a proper field management plan.
The program began with a short farm tour and a stop at a broodmare pasture with a long history, as told by Extension Specialist Krista Lea. In 2023, the pasture was found to contain KY 31+ toxic tall fescue and was targeted for renovation. That fall, the farm applied a targeted herbicide to kill just the tall fescue, and then seeded a novel endophyte. Testing the following spring still found high levels of the toxic ergot alkaloid ergovaline, suggesting that the kill and re-establishment process has not been effective. In the fall of 2024, the pasture was again targeted for renovation, but this time, a complete kill was utilized. Two applications of a killing spray followed by no-till seeding of a novel tall fescue + orchardgrass + KY bluegrass were successfully completed. The results, as assessed by the UK Horse Pasture Evaluation Program found over 85% of the pasture now contained tall fescue and orchardgrass, and ergovaline levels were below the detectable limits. Field day attendees were able to see this pasture first hand, ask questions and even received a quick lesson on identifying tall fescue and orchardgrass.
Dinner followed the farm tour and was prepared by the Woodford County Cattlemen. During dinner, Keith Haag, partner and farm manager gave insight into some of his experiences and how he came to become the farm manager of Endeavor and all of the responsibilities that he has undertaken since starting there.
As the attendees finished their dinner, they had plenty of time to speak with the vendors. These included the University of Kentucky’s Ag Equine Programs, McCauley Feeds, Hallway Feeds, the Alliance for Grassland Renewal and University of Kentucky Plant and Soil Sciences. Endeavor Farms also made all of their pasture records available, showing steady improvement over years of focused pasture management.
After dinner, Dr. Ray Smith and Dr. Bob Coleman offered educational sessions on hay testing and feeding. Dr. Smith demonstrated the proper way to take hay samples and how to correctly use a soil moisture meter and had a selection of hay probes that participants could try out on some bales of hay. Dr. Bob Coleman taught those in the crowd how to interpret hay samples. He provided his own hay samples that they were able to sift through, so they could determine good quality hay versus poor quality hay.
Overall, there were over 100 people in attendance. Guests came mainly from Fayette and Scott County, some had come from surrounding areas, from across the country, and even from outside of the United States. We had many farm managers and interns/students that were present.
~ Kimberlyn Price, undergraduate at Midway University and intern in the University of Kentucky Dept of Plant and Soil Sciences and Krista Lea, MS, University of Kentucky and Alliance for Grassland Renewal
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal is a national organization focused on enhancing the appropriate adoption of novel endophyte tall fescue technology through education, incentives, self-regulation and promotion. For more resources or to learn more about the Alliance for Grassland Renewal, go to www.grasslandrenewal.org
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal 