Winter Survivability & Cold Tolerance
Winter Survivability
Kentucky, April 2009
The following photos illustrate how Persist compared to some other varieties regarding performance through a very cold winter in Kentucky, including a winter that had a significant ice storm. The performance of Persist has been very good throughout the trial, as reported in Grazing Data page.
Entering winter, there were multiple varieties that still had decent ground coverage. That number has now been reduced. 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. While Persist lost about 10% of its ground cover, the variety shown to the right of Persist lost FIFTY-FOUR (54%) of its ground cover. Ratings in the Fall of 2009 indicate that those plants never did come back.
Continuous Grazing Photos
Cold Tolerance Trials
Canadian, Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island, 2007-2009
In Canada, new forage varieties are required to have a certain amount of years of testing before they are approved for use. Part of the testing is to evaluate whether they are better than the existing varieties available. Persist was entered into such a set of trials in 2007. In January 2010, Persist was given the green light and is now on their list of cultivar selections for the challenging climate of the Maritime Provinces* of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island!
Here's some points to note:
- Persist survived - not all varieties do that!
- Persist had the HIGHEST second-year Mean Annual Yield** of all the trial entries!
- Persist was given the HIGHEST score for "2-year Persistence".
* Persist was tested at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Fredericton, Nova Scotia; Woodstock, New Brunswick; Truro, Nova Scotia; and Old Barns, Nova Scotia.
** Mean Annual Yield is a particular calculation used by agrapoint.ca to compare varieties evaluated over different time periods in order to predict potential yields. Its purpose it attempt to accurately portray a variety's performance potential. A further clarification can be provided by agrapoint.ca
(information used by permission of agrapoint.ca)
| Cultivars | 3-Yr Mean Annual Yield** |
| Persist | 8.07 |
|---|---|
| Crown Royale | 8.07 |
| AC Splendor | 8.05 |
| Dactus | 7.91 |
| Kay | 7.91 |
| Intensive | 7.90 |
| Jay | 7.83 |
| Glorus | 7.80 |
| Artic | 7.70 |
| Niva | 7.69 |
| AC Nordic | 7.68 |
| Baridana | 7.67 |
| Okamidori | 7.67 |
| Okay | 7.64 |
| Lidacta | 7.59 |
| Frode | 7.45 |