All about LUCERNE THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!

Studies have shown that the inclusion of Lucerne silage in dairy cow diets can improve forage intake, and increase output of milk protein, with no change in milk fat. The benefits together with lower forage production costs when compared with grass silage should help to improve margin/litre of milk produced.

Yet in spite of all of these important attributes, ruminant livestock producers have been reluctant to grow lucerne silage and the area in Kenyaa is at present small. The reasons are that in general forage legumes are perceived as crops that are currently difficult to grow and hard to conserve. This situation is changing with the availability of suitable, disease-resistant varieties, the arrival of new equipment designed specifically for rapid wilting and access to big balers, the use of appropriate additives for effective fermentation and the production of advisory leaflets such as this one from Cotswold Seeds.
All these factors have helped to renew interest in forage legumes and will increase the knowledge and experience of a crop with a future.
Lucerne - A Premier Forage Legume for home grown PROTEIN
Lucerne or alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a legume that has been cultivated for around 2,000 years. It grows best in areas of high sunshine. There are one million hectares in France and about 12 million hectares in the USA. There is therefore a wealth of research information available on the crop.
Lucerne is tolerant of the winter temperatures experienced in England and Wales and has been grown successfully in all the arable cropping regions, but only on the right type of soils. It is a deep rooting crop which can sustain dry matter production at times of low rainfall. We must expect rising temperatures due to climate change and drought conditions are likely in the future.
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