McCulley's study--which she began in 2008--examines how predicted increase in temperatures, changes in rainfall amounts, and a lengthened growing season might impact pastures.
"We are looking at a higher carbon dioxide world," she said. "There is uncertainty, but it will get warmer. An altered climate will affect what horses and cattle eat. We just don't know how the changes will unfold."
A few years into her study, McCulley is able to predict that forage quality won't take much of a hit.
"At this stage, a warm and wet Kentucky will be weedier, and it will have a lot of crabgrass," McCulley said. "But tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass will still be around. Crabgrass will be more prominent in the future pastures of Kentucky; the real test will be to see if animals respond by eating it." Read the full report here.
Source: by University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture, The Horse.com.
