It is well known that the single-greatest expense in a cattle enterprise is feed and forage production. One way to reduce cost is to decrease hay feeding days.

Tall fescue-clover pastures have a long history of improving livestock performance in the U.S. transition zone as well as mitigating the effects of fescue toxicosis.

In the southeast U.S., perennial grasses such as tall fescue, bermudagrass and bahiagrass make up a large portion of our annual hay crop.

A $500,000 grant from the USDA will allow researchers at the University of Georgia (UGA) to examine the minutiae of cattle and fescue microbiome interaction to find targets that will help mitigate the effects of fescue toxicosis, a forage-related condition that costs the U.S. beef industry more than $1 billion each year.