PS11-19. Interseeded Red Clover or Supplementation for Stocker Cattle Grazing Tall Fescue.

Abstract ‘KY31’ tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus) remains a persistent and productive forage in the southeastern United States but contributes to substantial economic losses in beef cattle systems due to fescue toxicosis. Common mitigation strategies, such as transitioning to novel-endophyte tall fescue or blending species to dilute ergot alkaloid intake, can be costly and limit producer adoption. Therefore, this project evaluated grazing-based management strategies, including interseeding red clover (Trifolium pratense) and supplemental feeding programs utilizing byproduct feedstuffs, as practical options to maintain forage productivity and grazing capacity in existing KY31 pastures. The experiment was conducted on 20 replicated KY31 tall fescue pastures across two locations in Alabama: the Black Belt Research and Extension Center (BBREC; Marion Junction, AL) and the Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center (TVREC; Belle Mina, AL). Pastures (1 ha) were assigned within a generalized complete block design to one of four treatments: control (CON; no supplement or legume), SUP0.5 (0.5% BW supplementation with a 50:50 corn gluten feed–soybean hull blend), SUP1.0 (1.0% BW supplementation with the same blend), or CLOV (interseeded red clover). Pastures were stocked with three tester steers and managed using a put-and-take system to maintain targeted forage conditions until active forage growth ceased. Dry matter yield was not affected by supplementation strategy, red clover inclusion, or treatment × location interactions (P ≥ 0.33). Mean dry matter yield averaged 2,304, 2,700, 2,119, and 2,377 kg/ha for CLOV, CON, SUP0.5, and SUP1.0 treatments, respectively. Forage allowance did not differ by treatment (P = 0.71) or location (P = 0.15), averaging 1.88, 1.67, 1.64, and 1.90 kg forage/kg animal body weight for CLOV, CON, SUP0.5, and SUP1.0, respectively. Stocking density differed by location (P = 0.04), with values averaging 7.34 steers/ha at BBREC and 8.65 steers/ha at TVREC, but was not influenced by supplementation strategy or red clover inclusion (P = 0.41). Across treatments, stocking density averaged 7.64, 8.83, 7.16, and 8.36 steers/ha for CLOV, CON, SUP0.5, and SUP1.0, respectively. These results indicate that grazing-based management strategies evaluated in this study maintained forage availability and pasture carrying capacity comparable to unsupplemented KY31 tall fescue systems. Differences in stocking density were driven primarily by location, highlighting the importance of site-specific factors in grazing management decisions and suggesting that these strategies may support flexible, lower-input management of KY31 pastures without compromising grazing capacity.