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cattle on pasture

Sainfoin is sometimes used instead of alfalfa because it doesn't have the risk for bloat. It handles dry conditions well.

Add Quality to Forage

Adding legumes to grass pastures adds quality to the forage.

Adding legumes to grass pastures or hay fields supplies nitrogen to the soil and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, as well as adding quality to the forage.

Anowar Islam, associate professor and agroecologist in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Wyoming, has been conducting a number of research trials on legumes and grasses in various locations around Wyoming. He started one study in 2009 that is ongoing at different locations and elevations to identify optimum seeding ratios of grass and legumes for improved forage yields, quality and stand persistence.

“We used different seeding rates to try to determine the best proportions for grass and legumes for a persistent stand. We have 15 to 18 treatments at all of these locations. For example we have 100% legume, 100% grass, and many different proportions of each (such as 30% grass and 70% legume, 50-50, etc.). After several years we found that if you have at least 25% legume, the stand exceeds the productivity of grass that has 100 pounds of nitrogen applied annually.”

Sainfoin is sometimes used instead of alfalfa because it doesn’t have the risk for bloat. In some conditions it doesn’t regrow as well as alfalfa, however, and is best for only one cutting. Islam has done studies in various locations in Wyoming with several legumes, including sainfoin. One of those studies is ongoing, using alfalfa, sainfoin and bird’s-foot trefoil as the legumes, and meadow brome as the grass.

“In one study we used similar seeding rates, but sainfoin instead of alfalfa. We used 100% sainfoin, 50-50 mix, and 30-70. The test plots at Sheridan using meadow brome (70%) and alfalfa (30%) in the Sheridan conditions produced the maximum yield and maximum economic returns, compared to sainfoin. The sainfoin doesn’t have a high regrowth rate, compared to alfalfa. If it has too much pressure from grass, the sainfoin slowly disappears. Our four- and five-year studies showed that a 50-50 mix of sainfoin (or alfalfa) still do okay, but compared to alfalfa and bird’s-foot trefoil, the sainfoin is lower. The bird’s-foot trefoil seems to do very well, and provides nutritive value very similar to alfalfa,” he says.

“The sainfoin didn’t do as well, in comparison, in irrigated conditions. Sainfoin does not tolerate much water. If the water table is too high, it doesn’t grow very well either. It also doesn’t have the ability like alfalfa and bird’s-foot trefoil to tolerate some root-rot diseases. It starts slowly declining in growth and disappearing in an irrigated system over time. Sainfoin does best in a dryland system, or in conditions with frequent but small amounts of water,” he says.

Sainfoin is often grazed rather than put up as hay, because there is no problem with bloat. “Bloat with alfalfa is always an issue unless you have at least 30% grass in the mix. Sainfoin can be readily grazed with no problems. Bird’s-foot trefoil is another bloat-free, dual-purpose legume that can be used for hay and grazing,” he says.

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Editor’s Note: Heather Smith Thomas is a cattlewoman and freelance writer from Salmon, Idaho.



 

 

 

 

 

 





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