What is the Correlation between Fescue and Deer?
Filed under: Ask Grant, Herbicide
Another question. What’s your view on fescue grass? What is the correlation between fescue and deer? Do they eat it, like it, love it? I have heard many different views on this. All I know is there are a ton of fescue farmers around this part of the country. That seems to be the only thing most farmers want to plant, I guess due to its ease of getting stands and for their cattle’s diet. However, it’s difficult to plant anything close to it because of its competitive nature to take over.
Tom
Tom,
Fescue = NEGATIVE for almost all wildlife! Fescue is not palatable or nutritious for most forms of wildlife, including deer. When deer are observed in fescue fields, they are most likely picking clover or other forages in the fescue.
Yes, fescue is very invasive. However, it can be controlled by spraying with Glyphosate at least twice at the appropriate times of year, etc. There are other good reasons to kill fescue and replace with either nutritious crops or cover like native warm season grasses. Fescue is very difficult for quail or turkey poults to move through. If the objective on your property is improving the habitat for wildlife, few activities will yield more benefit than converting fescue to better forage or cover!
Growing Deer together,
Grant
