As in other parts of Europe, climate change is also causing more extreme weather conditions in Flanders. Heavy rainfall in the fall and longer dry periods in the growing season are more common. However, the most commonly used grass for mowing and grazing, English ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), is sensitive to drought. Dry periods thus jeopardize the production of sufficient quality forage.
Red fescue
A grass species that performs better in drier periods is red fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). This grass is a perennial grass with good persistence and on average 20 to 30% higher dry matter yield compared to ryegrass. Thanks to its deep roots, that extra yield even reaches 45% in dry years. Red fescue is suitable for mowing and grazing and well resistant to drought and flooding. Due to its slow juvenile growth, the grass is preferably sown in late summer.
After mowing, this grass dries a lot faster than ryegrass. These plots are therefore better mowed last, not shaken, raked last and ensiled first. Red fescue is well suited for a mixed crop with red and white clover (30 kg/ha + 7 kg/ha red clover + 3 kg/ha white clover) for mowing purposes or only white clover for grazing (30 kg/ha + 5 kg/ha white clover). The digestibility of red fescue is on average 10% points lower than ryegrass. In addition, cattle consume less red fescue, which makes cattle farmers reluctant to include it the cropping plan.
Trials with red fescue
In the VLAIO-LA trajectory KLIMGRAS, a collaboration between ILVO and Ghent University (Belgium), some trials with recent varieties were carried out. These trials show that red fescue can have added value on a cattle farm.
In 2021, 2022 and 2023, 4 grazing trials were conducted under different climatic conditions (dry, wet, hot, cold, …) and during different periods (spring, summer, fall) with pregnant young cattle (Holstein) between 15 and 22 months of age. Small groups of 5 to 7 animals were alternately grazed for 4 weeks on plots of ryegrass or reed fescue that was not previously grazed. Every 2 weeks, all animals were weighed to monitor growth. In all grazing trials, animals appeared to grow faster on average when grazing on red fescue (Table 1). In half of the grazing trials, this difference was also significant. During 1 of the 4 grazing trials, methane emissions from the animals on the pasture were also examined. Methane emissions from grazing animals were not found to differ between the two grasses. Breeders are working hard to develop new varieties of red fescue with improved digestibility. Despite this effort, there still remains a large gap in digestibility between red fescue and ryegrass. However, our trials show that these differences are more likely to have a positive effect on growth in grazing young cattle.
Conclusion
Despite the limited number of animals per trial, the repeatability of the results over the 3 years and under different conditions still clearly shows the added value of reed fescue for grazing young cattle. Indeed, these animals have lower nutritional requirements than lactating dairy cattle and the dry matter intake is less restrictive. In fact, the lower passage rate of red fescue allows for greater nutrient utilization in red fescue in these animals.
Grazing pastures for young cattle, as well as beef cattle, can therefore be perfectly sown with red fescue without negative effects on animal growth or development. The grass supply is higher and more constant throughout the year. More animals can therefore be kept per hectare and there is less need for supplementary feeding. Red fescue, therefore, does add value on a cattle farm.
