If you’re a hobby farmer looking to enhance your livestock management and maximize the growth of your lambs, incorporating lucerne into your pasture grazing practices is a game-changer.
Lucerne, also known as alfalfa, is a resilient perennial legume with numerous benefits for lambs. It is rich in crude protein, low in fiber, and has been shown to support impressive growth rates in lambs. This makes it an excellent choice for sustainable grazing and organic livestock management.
In this guide, we’ll explore the nutritive characteristics of lucerne, its plant characteristics and management, as well as the benefits of incorporating lucerne into your sheep pasture alongside different grass and legume varieties.
Nutritive Characteristics of Lucerne
When it comes to providing high-quality forage for your lambs, lucerne stands out as an excellent option. It offers numerous benefits, including improving lamb health and maximizing growth. Let’s take a closer look at the nutritive characteristics of lucerne and how it can positively impact your flock.
High Crude Protein and Low Fiber Content
Lucerne boasts high levels of crude protein, averaging between 22 to 27% throughout the year. This is crucial for supporting lamb growth and development. Additionally, lucerne has a low fiber content, ranging from 32 to 40%. Its low fiber content makes it highly digestible, allowing lambs to efficiently convert the nutrients into energy.
Comparing Favorably to Other Forage Options
Lucerne’s nutritive characteristics compare favorably to other popular forage options like perennial ryegrass, chicory, and tall fescue. With its high protein and low fiber content, lucerne provides a nutrient-dense feed source for your lambs, promoting optimal growth and health.
Metabolizable Energy and Growth Rates
Lucerne has an average metabolizable energy value of 11.0MJ per kg dry matter throughout the year. This energy source contributes to the overall health and vitality of lambs. In fact, lucerne grazing has been shown to achieve impressive growth rates of 300 g/head/day in lambs. By incorporating lucerne into their diet, you can maximize their growth potential.
The nutritive characteristics of lucerne make it an ideal choice for improving lamb health and maximizing growth. Its high crude protein levels, low fiber content, and metabolizable energy value provide the essential nutrients lambs need for optimal development. With lucerne as part of their grazing diet, your lambs can thrive and reach their full potential.
Lucerne Plant Characteristics and Management
When it comes to sustainable grazing practices and maximizing the benefits of lucerne for your lambs, understanding the plant’s characteristics and implementing effective management techniques is crucial. Lucerne, a resilient perennial legume, possesses unique qualities that contribute to its success as a valuable forage option.
At the core of lucerne’s resilience is its large taproot and crown system. The taproot serves as a storage organ for essential nutrients and carbohydrates necessary for regrowth after grazing or cutting. To ensure optimal regrowth, lucerne requires sufficient reserves in its taproot.
When sheep graze on lucerne, the plant responds by utilizing its stored reserves to produce new stems and leaves. Photosynthesis increases as new leaves form, enabling the plant to produce carbohydrates for further growth. The carbohydrates from the crown or root system cease to be used, and instead, they are stored in the taproot during the later stages of the growth cycle.
Lucerne has a natural trigger for flowering, which occurs when temperatures cool or when the plant hasn’t been grazed for an extended period. Allowing lucerne to flower each year is an essential management practice as it maximizes carbohydrate storage in the crown and taproot, ensuring the plant’s long-term persistence and productivity.
Proper grazing management is also pivotal to the success of lucerne pastures. Short grazing periods of 7 to 10 days prevent the consumption of new shoots at the base of the plant, promoting continuous growth. Appropriate rest periods of 6 weeks between grazing episodes allow the plant to replenish its reserves, supporting optimum production and persistence.
Implementing pasture rotation techniques can also enhance the sustainability of grazing practices. Rotational grazing involves dividing the pasture into smaller paddocks and rotating the livestock between them. This technique allows lucerne stands to recover and rejuvenate while preventing overgrazing and promoting even utilization of the pasture.
Benefits of Implementing Sustainable Grazing Practices and Pasture Rotation Techniques
The benefits of sustainable grazing practices and pasture rotation techniques extend beyond the immediate health and productivity of the lucerne pasture:
- Promotes soil health and fertility by providing opportunities for nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition
- Reduces the risk of soil erosion and runoff, preserving water quality
- Enhances biodiversity by allowing different grasses, legumes, and herbs to thrive in different paddocks
- Improves forage quality and nutritional content by preventing overgrazing and promoting regrowth
- Controls parasites and pests by interrupting their life cycles and disrupting their habitat
By implementing sustainable grazing practices, such as short grazing periods, appropriate rest periods, and pasture rotation techniques, hobby farmers can ensure the long-term productivity and health of their lucerne pastures, maximizing the benefits for their lambs.
Grass and Legume Varieties for Sheep Pasture
When it comes to creating a thriving sheep pasture, choosing the right grass and legume varieties can make all the difference. As a hobby farmer, you want to provide your lambs with nutritious and sustainable grazing options. Here are some grass and legume varieties that can enhance the quality and productivity of your sheep pasture.
One popular option is Timothy, a cost-effective grazing grass that can be frost-seeded. It provides a reliable choice for your lambs’ grazing needs. Another option to consider is Bluegrass, which offers a dense and persistent grass that sheep enjoy. However, it’s important to note that Bluegrass has a lower yield and is more prone to drought.
If you’re looking for a high-yielding and drought-resistant grass, the Baraula variety of orchard grass is an excellent choice. Sheep graze well on this variety, and its palatable leaves remain even after heading out, ensuring continuous grazing enjoyment. On the other hand, perennial ryegrass (BG 34) may require significant fertilizer inputs to yield well and is easily grazed too short by sheep.
Though Tall fescue is not preferred by sheep and doesn’t yield much, meadow fescue is liked by sheep but may not provide significant yield. Additionally, clovers like red clover and Dutch white clover offer the advantage of nitrogen fixation but come with the risk of bloat in sheep. Red clover maintains palatability as it matures, minimizes trampling, and stockpiles well. If you’re looking for higher yielding options, consider white clover varieties like Alice and Huia New Zealand, which are enjoyed by sheep during grazing.
Proper grazing management is essential to prevent bloat risks associated with grazing clover. By carefully selecting the grass and legume varieties for your sheep pasture and implementing sustainable grazing practices, you can ensure healthy lambs and successful organic livestock management.