Persist Beats the Ice!
As you may know, we have Persist Orchardgrass at the University of Kentucky’s Lexington research station in a number of trials, including a continuous grazing study and a rotational grazing study. These plots were planted along with other varieties in September of ‘05. Persist’s performance has been very good throughout the trial, as reported in graphic form at PersistOrchardgrass.com/research/grazingdata.htm. Entering this past winter there were multiple varieties that still had decent ground coverage. That number has now been reduced.
As of April 28th, 2009, there were multiple entries that appear to have significant winter kill damage. This past winter was very cold in KY, including an ice storm dubbed “the biggest natural disaster that (Kentucky) has ever experienced in modern history.” The stress of grazing combined with the harsh winter simply has gotten the best of them. That said, we are happy to report that Persist continues to not only survive in Kentucky, but is thriving, and thriving very well, especially compared to some of the other entries as demonstrated in this photo and other photos at PersistOrchardgrass.com.
Last year it survived some of the most severe drought conditions the Southeast had experienced (see PersistOrchardgrass.com/testimonials.htm); now we’ve seen it beat severe winter. We’ve added a new section to our website with additional data out of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. We now have even more reason to say, “Persist Orchardgrass, Plant for Keeps!”
Persist (left) | Other Variety (right) - University of Kentucky - April 28, 2009
Resource Library
We’ve recently updated our website’s Resource Library to include some very nifty resources. Take a look at the following and share them with your staff and customers at www.smithseed.com/library/library.htm, or click on the Resource Library tab from any of the pages at www.smithseed.com.
- Forage Seed Guide - an in-house publication with details on species and our varieties.
- Fertilizer Management for Grass and Grass-Legume Mixtures - from Utah State’s Extension.
- How Grass Grows - MUST SEE!!! A very good interactive presentation developed by VA Tech.
- Measuring Pasture Legume Content Using Alternative Methods - A new method using digital photography and Powerpoint software - from W. VA’s Extension.
- Photo Gallery of Various Legume Content - Various examples using the above method.
- Pasture Condition Score Sheet and Procedure Guide - put out by the NRCS. Visual Comparison of
- Continuous vs. Rotational Grazed Orchardgrass - Easy to understand visual comparison of recovery rate difference - from the U. of KY, including a time-lapsed video.