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Making the Switch to Native Grass
Beef producers across the country may not share the same soil, weather or cattle breeds. But they do share common concerns: consistency of feed availability; feed quality and performance; mitigating the effects of the fescue endophyte; reducing impacts of drought; and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. And while none of these concerns can be eliminated by a single practice, a recently introduced program is helping producers nationwide reduce their dependence on non-native forages and purchased hay.
According to the program’s website, The Environmental Quality Incentives Program Climate Smart Agriculture – Native Forages Initiative (NFI) provides “focused technical and financial assistance for the establishment of native forages through either renovating existing non-native forage … or converting cropland to native forage for haying or grazing.” By encouraging the establishment of native forages, the program is designed to help improve drought resilience, boost summer forage availability, and improve soil health.
Success From the Start
For one Missouri farm couple, the value of native grass forage was apparent almost immediately.
Charlie and Donnia Besher run around 150 registered Herefords, and they offer custom grazing on their Bollinger County acreage. After learning about NFI and the benefits of native grass forage, the Beshers worked with the Missouri Department of Conservation, Quail Forever and U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to convert 120 acres from fescue to native grasses — and saw the benefits the very next year.
“We planted in 2019. Then the first grazing we did was in 2020,” Charlie says. “We had a set of heifers that we wanted to AI; we put them on the native grass, and we ended up with close to an 80% conception rate, where we’d had something like 50% or 60% before. I believe they were in better shape, because we’d flushed the fescue endophyte out of them; they weren’t stressed, and they were gaining the entire time they were on those grasses.”
Ultimately, the Beshers hope to convert about 35% of their total forage acres to native grasses. While fescue is and will remain an important component of their mix, the decision to plant native grasses just made sense, especially with the assistance available through NFI and, in their case, Quail Forever.
“The fescue is strong in spring and fall,” Charlie says, “but it slumps in the summer. And that’s exactly when the native grass comes on. So all we did was fill in that growth gap.”
A Move That Pays Off
To start their native grass journey, Charlie chose a seed mix consisting of 5 pounds of big bluestem, 2½ pounds of little bluestem, and 2½ pounds of Indiangrass per acre. After a quick burndown, field prep and stand maintenance were minimal.
“We turn the cattle out to graze the fescue down to the ground,” he says, “then we’ll drill the native grass seed. If we start to see weeds, we’ll come back mid- to late season with an application of DuraCor® herbicide. If we can graze it the next year, we’ll let it get about boot-top high and then come in with DuraCor again to keep the weeds down. Grazing will obviously put some stress on the plants, so we don’t want any weed competition.”
The move to native grass has paid off in a variety of ways, beyond higher conception rates. Resting their fescue during the summer allowed the Beshers to stockpile more forage for fall and winter. And after giving the herd a break from the fescue, Charlie noticed the animals’ heat tolerance improved.
“When they’re loaded up with the endophyte, we’ll see them either in the shade, in a mud hole or in a pond,” he says. “But once they’ve been on the native grass for 10 days or so, they’ll be out grazing in the middle of the day. It’s only a couple of degrees of body temperature, but it makes a huge difference.”
Charlie points to other agronomic and environmental benefits as well. Water infiltration has improved, thanks to the native grasses’ extensive root systems. And in the absence of fescue’s dense, matted growth, populations of deer, turkey and quail are on the rise.
After six years of experience with native grasses, the Beshers are sold; Charlie encourages producers in other appropriate geographies to take the leap.
“You don’t have to be a conservationist to do it,” he says. “I know some people will look at the native grass and think it’s just conservation grass, but it’s great forage for cattle. My only regret is that we didn’t start earlier.”
Learn how other producers are boosting forage quality and quantity at RangeAndPasture.com
Under normal field conditions, DuraCor® is nonvolatile. DuraCor has no grazing or haying restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy cows, horses (including lactating mares) and meat animals prior to slaughter. Label precautions apply to forage treated with DuraCor and to manure and urine from animals that have consumed treated forage. DuraCor is not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Consult the label for full details. Always read and follow label directions.