Author Archives: grasslandrenewal

Many farmers in the tall fescue belt take a first cutting of hay off some of their KY31 tall fescue pastures. This removes the more toxic seedheads and the toxins are partially degraded by the hay curing process. This helps cope with the early flush of growth, but across the region we see more andContinue reading “Consider Summer Stockpiling as an Alternative to Cutting Hay in Tall Fescue Systems”

NRCS programs such as EQIP and CSP do more than just throw money at land issues. NRCS conservationists work with producers every step of the way to make improvements that benefit your land now and for years to come. The NRCS, the USDA’s primary private lands conservation agency, supports producers by providing one-on-one, personalized assistanceContinue reading “How NRCS programs help producers improve grazing lands through conservation practices”

The usual start of the grazing season for us has been March 15 for ryegrass and April 15 for tall fescue-based pastures.  This year we turned out March 2 on the ryegrass and April 1 on the rest of the pastures, and we have good growth ahead of each of our groups. We start theContinue reading “Triple Creek Journal, April 15, 2024”

New stands of Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue should be growing well.  Despite challenging establishment conditions last fall, most reports are of successful establishment.  Prepare to remove spring growth by grazing several times or cutting for hay.  If grazing, graze for a short time and not closer than 4 inches.  Provide at least 3 weeks ofContinue reading “Timely Tips: April”

Last year we began a multi-phase novel endophyte tall fescue conversion process for a number of pastures in our grazing systems area at Virginia Tech’s Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center. We planted three 2-acre paddocks that had been in annual forages for a few years into Kentucky-31 tall fescue. Three similar paddocks wereContinue reading “Tall fescue establishment in a drought”

Sweet Vernal Grass is widely distributed across the tall fescue belt, but it is poorly understood by most farmers. It helps make up a green sod, but when present at a significant level it suggests that pastures are in low state of productivity and may be in need of renovation. Sweet Vernal Grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum,Continue reading “Be aware of Sweet Vernal Grass in your tall fescue pastures”

My title last month was “Break Out” and if you read that edition you understand what a challenging situation we were in! Now, this month “An Explosion!” But wait, it is not what you might think; this time it’s a really good thing! Like everyone else in the Southeast US, we had a very challengingContinue reading “Triple Creek Journal: An Explosion!”

As we move into spring there are several things you can do to improve the development of your new stands of tall fescue planted in 2023, and to prepare land that is scheduled for renovation in the Fall of 2024. If you have not yet applied nitrogen to new stands, that should be done asContinue reading “March 2024 Timely Tips”

Legumes are an essential part of a profitable grazing systems. Clover’s superpower is its ability to fix nitrogen from the air into a plant available form. After photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation is the second most important biochemical process on earth. Clover also increases forage quality and quantity and helps to manage tall fescue toxicosis. Strong nitrogenContinue reading “The Gift that Keeps Giving…Clover”

There are times when it seems that if something can go wrong it will. It is not just Murphy’s law, it is the story of farming! It usually turns out that how you react to a problems is critical, and maintaining a good attitude is pretty much essential. Every cloud has a potential silver liningContinue reading “Triple Creek Journal: BREAK OUT!”