Growing and feeding lucerne

Find out about the pros and cons of growing and feeding lucerne.

Lucerne, commonly known as alfalfa, is valued for its yield, protein content, digestible fibre and drought tolerance.

Like other legumes, such as clover, peas and beans, it does not grow when the soil temperature is below 8°C, so in the UK does well between April/May and September. Yields can struggle in a cold spring and – even with its drought tolerance – in dry summers.

Lucerne is not suitable for every system – there are pros and cons to consider.

Pros	Cons
High yielding (12 t DM/ha per year)	Needs multiple cuts (3–4 per year)
High protein (18–22% crude protein, CP)	Low energy levels (10 MJ of metabolisable energy, ME)
No requirement for applied nitrogen (N)	Moderate requirement for phosphate, sulphur and magnesium and high requirement for potash and calcium
Once the crop is established, it can suppress weeds	Slow establishment, which means weeds can dominate
Forage rich in digestible fibre	Can cause bloat in grazing animals
High levels of minerals and vitamins	Has a requirement for boron, molybdenum and manganese
Contains high quality amino acids (similar to those in milk)	n/a

Case study: Ben Dixon, dairy and beef farmer

Find out how Ben uses lucerne on his dairy farm in Shropshire, from grazing to silaging the crop.

We have 70 organic Jersey cows, milked through a robot. We aim to feed lucerne all-year-round through silage or strip or zero grazing. If grazing, they tend to do better if the crop is younger.

Our oldest stand is five years old and is still doing well. We tend to establish it in the spring with spring barley, which will take off as a wholecrop silage and then have a light grazing in the first autumn.

We apply some slurry in the spring, but limited other inputs.

When we make silage, we cut it in the afternoon and then move it into six-metre (20 ft.) swathes. It is picked up 24–48 hours later and clamped. There is around five to six weeks between cuts.

We have found that it can struggle in dry times, but does better than red clover. We have a dry farm and in the dry summer a few years ago, we lost fields of red clover but the lucerne came back.

The cost of growing lucerne

Example costings for growing lucerne, based on 2018 figures.

Expand for details

Table 1. Establishment costs

Establishment	2018 (£/ha)
Seed and inoculation (20 kg @ £7.50/kg)	150
Fertiliser: 60 kg phosphate and 60 kg potash /ha (possibly N in low N soils, e.g. after cereals)	68
Crop protection	60
Total	278

Table 2. Establishment variable costs

Variable	Cost (£/ha)
Ploughing	61
Discing	59
Power harrowing	52
Flat rolling	30
Drilling (seed and fertiliser)	50
Establishment contractor cost	252
Total establishment cost per crop per year (over 5 years)	106

Table 3. Annual costs

Annual cost	£/ha
Complete harvest (at 3.5 cuts per year at £145/ha/cut)	508
Fertiliser spreading	12
Annual fertiliser (0N:120 kg phosphate: 220 kg potash)	182
Establishment costs (from above)	106
Land rental	186
Total annual cost	994

Table 4. Example costs

Example	£/ha
Cost/kg DM (at 12 t DM/ha production)	0.08
Cost/kg DM (at 12 t DM/ha production) without land rental charge	0.07
Cost/kg protein (at 12 t DM/ha production at 21% protein)	0.39
Cost/kg protein as above without land rental charge	0.32

Further information

Feeding lucerne silage

Options for growing lucerne

The information in these web pages was compiled by Dr Liz Genever, Independent beef and sheep consultant and Dr Debbie McConnell, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute.

Topics:

Beef & Lamb Livestock Livestock Nutrition

Sectors:

Beef & Lamb

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forage