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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Dairy Forage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #425982
Research Project: Developing Sustainable Forage and Cover Crop Systems for Dairy Farms

Location: Dairy Forage Research

Title: Registration of 'Driftless' Meadow Fescue

Author
item Bajgain, Prabin
item CASLER, MICHAEL - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item LAMP, ROBIN - Barenbrug West Coast Research Station
item SINGH, DEVESH - Barenbrug West Coast Research Station

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/26/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Meadow fescue is a valuable pasture grass for livestock agriculture in the northern USA and Canada. Varieties used by livestock producers are imported from European breeding programs and may not be the best adapted and beneficial for livestock agriculture. Driftless meadow fescue is the first variety of this species that derives exclusively from plants collected in the USA and all breeding and selection was conducted in USA environments. It has superior adaptation and livestock production potential for humid regions of the northern USA.

Technical Abstract: ‘Driftless’ (Reg. no. TBD, PI 700120) meadow fescue [Schedonorus pratensis (Huds.) P. Beauv.; syn. Festuca pratensis Huds.; syn. Lolium pratense (Huds.) Darbysh.] is a synthetic cultivar obtained from seven parents. It has been selected for high biomass, digestibility, and seed yield in several regions of the Northern USA. Driftless’ forage yield is approximately 5% lower when compared to Pradel, a commercially available meadow fescue cultivar of European origin. Its neutral detergent fiber (NDF) is consistently lower and its NDF digestibility is higher relative to other existing meadow fescue cultivars. As the first meadow fescue cultivar developed from germplasm locally adapted within the USA, and owing to its superior forage quality, Driftless is expected to better support the needs of livestock producers compared to imported cultivars. Driftless is adapted to USDA hardiness zones 3 to 6 and was released by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in 2020 and its plant variety protection approved in 2023.