Talk to your local county agricultural extension agent. S/he should know what will grow well for you. If your county doesn't have an extension office, try the adjoining counties, or contact whichever state university/college has an agricultural program.

I know the grasses that might do well here aren't among those that would do well for you, so won't try to make suggestions.

I'd be interested to know too--we're also in WI (Northeast)--)most of our land is grass with some alfalfa. Is your ground plowed up or in grass? I'd love to grow some oats or something we could grind up and feed the chickens.

They have a mix called pasture mix, thats what we got.

We are working on our pasture too.

Just read in Progressive farmer about putting in warm season AND cool season grass. Am going to do some experimentation on that myself. Our pasture is mostly fescue, which has to go because of the horses. (There is a fungus(?) or something in fescue that is not good for horses. One of the other horse folks will know what it is for sure, it's been years since I read about it.)

Last year we planted a special fescue free horse mix, which helped in the summer, but we had no winter grass at all. So this year we're going to scatter some bluegrass seed. We planted white clover, that all seemed to end up in the lawn!

I've also looked into buffalo grass and little blue stem, but haven't gotten an affordable source. Buffalo grass is supposed to be drought tolerant enough for use in lawns out west.

There are some great native grass websites under various colleges, though I don't know of any off the top of my head. If you are interested in restoring Wisconsin native prairie grasses you can find out alot about the different grass types.

I have a farmer friend who is talking about switching to little blue stem as forage and hay as it is supposed to be higher in nutrition than orchard grass, and safer than fescue.

Hope this gives you a place to start.
Kitty

Years ago my dad planted our pastures in a mix of Fescue, red clover and brome. The brome did okay for several years, but the Fescue has proven too invasive and dominant. The pasture is now mostly fescue with some patches of red clover, and a few areas of brome. My recommendation is to use a plant species that has proven itself in your zone, and go with one that requires minimumal care (fertilizer or spraying).

Kitty, the problem with Fescue is a toxin that naturally occurrs in the plant. It is, at least for cattle, associated with rapid early season growth, just about the same time the cows are ready to calve. The net result in cattle is stillbirths. I think that this is the same thing that happens with horses. To get rid of the fescue is a major chore. You might have to use a "scorched earth" policy to get rid of it. You might have to burn your fields, turn it under, and then do follow up spraying before you can get a good stand of whatever you want to introduce. One problem you will also have is if any of your neighbors have extensive plantings of fescue you will also have a risk of fescue seed getting spread to your fields by birds and other animals. In some fields even the seeds might blow into your field. Good luck in getting rid of it.

Kevin