Tall fescue covers more than 35 million acres in the United States, making it one of the most important cool-season pasture grasses (Bacon and Siegel, 1988). It is grown primarily in the area south of Indianapolis, Indiana; north of Macon, Georgia; east of Kansas; and west of the eastern Appalachian mountains (Siegel et al., 1984). Hoveland (1993) indicated that of 21 states surveyed, tall fescue was used primarily for hay and pasture, with 8.5 million cattle and 688,000 horses grazing these pastures.
Tall fescue has many desirable characteristics in addition to its wide range of adaptation, including being easy to establish and tolerant to heavy grazing pressure and poor soil conditions (Arachevaleta et al., 1988). Tall fescue is the most desirable grass to stockpile for late fall and winter grazing. During the fall, this grass produces higher yields of stockpiled forage of superior quality compared to most other temperate grasses. Forage quality losses from leaf deterioration after frost are lower for tall fescue compared to most other forages. This is due to Fescue's heavy, waxy cuticle that protects the leaf from weather-related losses. In southern Ohio, tall fescue will stay green and may even grow a little during warm winter days. Tall fescue forms a strong sod that is tolerant of trampling damage, which is common on wet pasture soils during the winter. Tall fescue is a sod-forming forage due to short rhizomes that allow it to spread and recover from trampling damage. Winter grazing has minimal influence on yield or quality of this grass the following season (Penrose et al., 1994). Some trampling of fescue sods will aid in successful establishment of clovers into the stand.