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Target 10 Communicator

April 2011 Edition

Is There A Place For Irrigated Lucerne In A Dairy System?

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) project ‘Helping dairy farmers secure their water future’ held two Irrigated Lucerne in a Dairy System workshops in March 2011.

The workshops aimed to improve participants’ understanding of whether irrigated lucerne complemented their current forage system by outlining the benefits and risks associated with irrigated lucerne. The discussion was designed to assist participants make an informed decision about the extent to which they could possibly include irrigated lucerne in their forage mix.

The workshops featured two speakers, Nathan Shannon from DPI Victoria and Mary-Anne Lattimore, a lucerne specialist from NSW Industry and Investment, based at Yanco.

The three main areas of the workshops were:

• Assessing whether lucerne fits into your current forage system, and if so how.
• Important information on preparation, establishment, and management of the lucerne stand.
• Best management practices for highly productive and persistent lucerne stands.

A vast amount of technical information regarding lucerne plant growth and development, establishment, weed management, insect management, gross margin budgets, and grazing management was presented. However, the crucial element of the workshop was the discussion around whether irrigated lucerne, given its characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, fits into a dairy system. Despite a varying array of desirable traits, it appeared there are also significant risks associated with successfully integrating paddocks of lucerne into a normal grazing rotation.

The key message for farmers was that each farm business would need to individually assess whether lucerne would be suitable for their current farming system. Grazing lucerne is different to traditional dairy grazing practices, and requires a different management approach than that of a pasture-based system. For success to be achieved it would require careful management and a different approach to current methods of practice. Each farmer would need to work out how to fit lucerne paddocks into their grazing rotation and determine their own economical costing for a lucerne stand.

The critical components of any forage that farmers need to consider are:

• Water use efficiency (tonnes of dry matter per ML) – lucerne is very water use efficient.
• Irrigation infrastructure (equipment and water share) – lucerne requires large amounts of irrigation water over summer (4-12ML/ha).
• Timing the preparation and growth – a lucerne stand normally persists for four or five years (this varies depending on management, soil and environmental conditions, and the variety), and provides feed when most farms are short of grazing feed for their herd (summer). Annual crops (ryegrass/cereal) need to be re-sown every year and often a large proportion of the crop needs to be conserved, however these species may suit an autumn calving system.
• Utilisation (grazed or conserved) – due to its growth pattern a large amount of the lucerne produced can be directly grazed. The cost of fodder conservation, feed out and wastage on farms is often well in excess of $120/tDM, and this effectively turns cheap feed into expensive feed.
• Quality (feed for milking herd or young/dry cows) – lucerne is of high quality and is a particularly good source of protein over summer. Its energy (ME) is slightly lower than that of ryegrass.
• Yield (tonnes of dry matter per hectare) – lucerne rates well with yields over 15tDM/Ha/year achievable in an established stand, however good management is needed to achieve these yields.
• Persistence – due to its root structure, lucerne is more likely to survive a long, hot, dry summer compared to many other perennial species such as ryegrass, although the stand can thin out under such conditions.
• Cost per tonnes consumed – directly grazed lucerne can be a cheap source of feed. However, if it is all conserved and fed back it quickly becomes an expensive feed.
• Flexibility – lucerne can tolerate seasonal variation, however it does require good management particularly with grazing and harvest timing.
• Soil type and paddock suitability – lucerne does not like to be water logged; generally lighter soil types with good drainage are the best areas to grow lucerne. It is usually this characteristic that prevents people using lucerne in their forage plan.

When weighing up whether irrigated lucerne could have a place in a dairy system, a farmer must consider how much production they want or need and what time of year they need the production. They also need to take into consideration how they will manage the stand for the end purpose they have in mind. Another important factor is whether the farm has the sufficient resources to integrate and manage lucerne production.

Lucerne certainly has great potential in some respects. However, careful consideration is required before integrating lucerne into a dairy feed system. As with any change to a forage mix it is always best to do your homework and make a thorough assessment of whether the change(s) will suit the farm system and ultimately turn that feed into milk. If you are considering growing lucerne don’t rush into it and make sure the necessary preparation is done properly.