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Tall fescue could be ideal lawn grass

By
John Grimes-
Finally, spring is officially here.  While temperatures in the 40s and 50s do not encourage us to put away the winter clothing just yet, it is a start towards the springtime weather that we all enjoy.  It is amazing what a few days of sunshine can do for “greening up” the grass and pastures in our area.
Final Farmers Club Meeting of Season
The final Highland County Farmers Club meeting of the season is scheduled for Thursday, April 1, 2010.  As usual, it will be held at the Hillsboro Ponderosa Banquet Center at 545 S. High St. (U.S. 62) and will begin at 10 a.m.
This program will feature a topic of interest to all Highland County landowners.  Our featured speaker will be Lee Crocker, a Service Forester with the Ohio Division of Forestry.  Lee will be providing an update on the Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine Status in Highland County and will cover other forestry issues. As always, Highland County Farmers Club meetings are free and open to the public and everyone is welcome to attend.  I hope to see you there.
Cattlemen’s Banquet
The Highland County Cattlemen’s Association will be hosting their annual banquet on Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at the Elk’s Lodge in Hillsboro.  The social begins at 6:30 p.m. and the dinner is served at 7 p.m.  Tickets are available from any Cattlemen’s Association officer or director or at the Extension office at $15 per person.
The Highland County Cattlemen’s Association has had an eventful past year as they were recently named the Outstanding County Affiliate by the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association.  The banquet will be highlighted by the announcement of the 2010 Highland County Beef Queen and presentation of their 2010 scholarship winners.
Kisling Scholarships
The Lisa A. Kisling Memorial Scholarship was established in memory of Lisa A. Kisling to assist youth who have been active in Highland County 4-H, FFA, or Farm Bureau.  Three individuals will each receive a $500 scholarship. These scholarships are available to current year Highland County high school graduates or students enrolled at a two or four-year college or university. Applications are available at the Highland County Extension office, Rick’s Hometown TV & Appliance Center or Sonya Blankenship.  Deadline for submitting applications is May 1, 2010 (postmarked).
Go veggie to prevent global warming? Bull!
Vegan activists and others readily cite greenhouse gases as a reason to drop meat from diets, but a report presented to the American Chemical Society pooh-poohs the notion.
Environmental scientist Frank Mitloehner, from the University of California at Davis, authored the report and presented his findings to the Society. Mitloehner says lower consumption of meat and dairy products would not have any major affect on global warming and there are much more effective ways to reduce greenhouse gases.
Much of the misinformation on the contribution of livestock production to climate change date to 2006 United Nations report, "Livestock's Long Shadow," which Mitloehner cites as scientifically inaccurate. The U.N. report concluded that livestock contribute more to climate change than even the transport sector.
Mitloehner says that report’s authors, in calculating livestock’s contribution, totaled the entire “lifecycle” of gases from the manufacture of inputs such as fertilizers, feed and machinery through processing and packaging. In their calculations for the transport sector, they included only tailpipe emissions.
His report was covered widely in the popular press recently.
Source: Drovers
Tall Fescue Could Be the Perfect Lawn Grass
With its lush green color and fine texture, Kentucky bluegrass may be the lawn grass of choice among Ohioans, but tall fescue – with its many favorable attributes -- should not be overlooked.
Pam Sherratt, an Ohio State University Extension turfgrass specialist, said that tall fescue has come a long way since the original “Kentucky 31,” which Sherratt describes as a “coarse, ugly grass.” Now tall fescue boasts over 70 varieties that perform so well under Ohio’s environmental conditions that it could be labeled as the perfect lawn grass for Ohio.
“Tall fescue varieties have really improved over the 40 or 50 years that the grass has been grown in the United States,” said Sherratt. “It’s virtually indestructible.”
Like bluegrass, tall fescue is a cool-season grass, but that’s where the similarity ends. Sherratt said that homeowners should take a hard look at tall fescue for a number of reasons:
Long roots allow for drought and heat tolerance.
“The roots of Kentucky bluegrass are about 5 to 6 inches deep, but tall fescue roots can grow as deep at 15 inches,” said Sherratt. “This allows the grass to access water at depths Kentucky bluegrass can’t reach, remaining green during hot summers long after Kentucky bluegrass goes dormant."
It requires less maintenance. “Since tall fescue can more readily access water, it doesn’t require as much water or fertilizer as Kentucky bluegrass,” said Sherratt. “Less water means lower costs on the homeowner’s water bill over the summer.”
Unlike other cool season grasses, tall fescue is shade tolerant. It can be quickly established. 
“Tall fescue will germinate in about a week and will produce a lawn in 10 weeks,” said Sherratt.
It’s more wear tolerant. Once established, tall fescue can withstand the wear and tear of usage. It contains endophytes – naturally occurring fungi that provide tall fescue with a natural defense against surface-feeding insects.
“Tall fescue is still susceptible to grubs, but it doesn’t produce thatch like Kentucky bluegrass does that the grubs are most attracted to,” said Sherratt.
The only problem that tall fescue is prone to is brown patch -- a disease that occurs when grass is over-fertilized and over-watered.
Sherratt said that for best lawn performance, tall fescue can be mixed with Kentucky bluegrass.
“It’s best not to mix it with rye grass, as it gets clumpy,” said Sherratt.
“It was traditionally thought that Kentucky bluegrass was the lawn grass. But tall fescue has so many good attributes that we could very well recommend it as the lawn grass of choice in Ohio.”
Readers can find a plethora of fact sheets and bulletins on using tall fescue in lawn establishment at Ohio State University’s Ohioline, http://ohioline.osu.edu. Homeowners can also visit the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program at http://ntep.org, which provides research results from 28 universities across the nation of all major turfgrass species.
Source: Pam Sherratt, Ohio State University Extension Turfgrass Specialist
--John Grimes is the Ohio State University Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Highland County.  Ohio State University Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that all research and related educational programs are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or veteran status.  This statement is in accordance with United States Civil Rights Laws and the USDA.
Keith L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Director, Ohio State University Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868.
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