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Detailed information and articles on grass seed and related matters |
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Sainfoin - The forage for the ruminant
Robin Hill is a sainfoin enthusiast. He explains why sainfoin is the best fodder legume to meet the production requirements of ruminant animals.
The main reasons for continuing to advocate a return to using sainfoin re that it is a low input, non-bloating plant which fixes its own nitrogen and is suitable for both cutting and grazing. The following points summarize why sainfoin should be considered.
1. High protein. This ranges up to 25% according to growth stage. The protein is largely undegradable in the rumen due to the presence of tannins. It has been shown that there is a much higher absorption rate than for lucerne.
2. High volentry intake: 20-40% greater than for grass on account of its very high palatability. It has lower fibre content than grass or other legumes with the exception of white clover. It is known that even when offered straw from second crop, animals will eat the material in spite of its unpromising appearance.
3. It is ‘bloat-free’ due to being a tanniferous forage and is therefore good for grazing. This explains its popularity with sheep farmers in the past. At one time it occupied about 10% of the grassland area in Oxfordshire.
4. Sainfoin has been shown to give the highest liveweight gains compared with other forages due to efficiency of protein uptake by the animal.
5. It is drought resistant on account of very deep root system, compared with lucerne. In Canada it is considered better than lucerne for light sandy soils.; it also improves the soil.
6. Winter hardiness is also as good or better than for lucerne. Therefore a ley can last for many years.
7. Sainfoin has an extended period of flowering and is very attractive to bees. This can lead to high yields of honey; also it can provide a habitat for wild bees threatened with extinction. It must be considered a very environmentally-friendly plant.
8. It contains a high level of the major minerals (with the exception of sodium)
9. It is free from disease
10. Finally, sainfoin was always renowned for its medicinal qualities. If you have sick animals or ‘bad doers’ they will quickly recover on sainfoin. I have heard this from several farmers brought up with the crop.
So with all these advantages why is sainfoin not more widely grown? Particularly on those soils which are suited to it, i.e. light alkaline soils with good drainage, also sandy soils and stony soils such as the stonebrash Cotswolds.
The availability of cheap nitrogen led to the present unpopularity of legumes. It was quicker to establish a ryegrass sward, and improved varieties of perennials, especially, have been very successful from the fifties onwards. These grass leys fitted in with arable crops such as winter wheat and winter barley sown in the autumn. The opportunities for spring sowing and undersowing were few and far between.
In the present situation, with low prices in every sector, it may be right to go back to more extensive systems. Self-sufficiency in protein should be one of the objectives, and the larger legume crops are an alternative worth considering. Also there is a swing back to more spring crops.
Choosing which larger legume species to grow:
1. Mainly for cutting:
Duration for 2-3 years only = red clover
Duration 4-5 years = lucerne
Both these will give very high yields when cut for silage, but are limited for grazing due to their bloating characteristic. It is only possible to graze safely either crop in autumn, but by this time the quality of the herbage is much reduced.
2. For cutting or grazing:
Duration 4-5 years = Sainfoin
Yields of silage will be lower but quality is better. Grazing is excellent and animal performance, especially for lambs and young stock will be greatly enhanced.
How to grow a sainfoin crop:
What type of Soil is best?
It is essential that sainfoin is grown on those soils most suited to it.
These have traditionally the chalk and limestone soils and sandy soils liable to drought. The main criterion is that the land must be free draining and have a pH of around 6. This does not rule out better medium loam soils which will give higher yields. It will thrive also on very stony soils such as are found in the Cotswolds.
Should it be grown with a Companion Grass?
For grazing it is an advantage to have some grass present as this will enhance the yield. We suggest some meadow fescue, timothy or cocksfoot; the seed rate is kept low to avoid competing too much with the sainfoin. This means using from 2-4 kg per acre of the combined grasses. A small amount of white clover can be added.
Sowing the Seed
The sainfoin is contained in a husk and therefore bulky. It should be drilled at 1-2 cm deep, the grass seeds being broadcast over the drills. An ordinary corn drill is satisfactory.
Undersowing in Spring
This is a good way to establish sainfoin. It can be sown into a cover of spring barley, the latter being sown at about 50% of the normal rate. This can be taken off as silage, and will contribute towards the first year which is otherwise unproductive. You will also get some light grazing in the first autumn provided that the sianfoin is well established. Otherwise it is better to leave it ungrazed through the winter. After this the crop will come into production and last for 4 years, some times longer.
Weed control
It is an advantage to use a selective weed killer such as ‘Belmac +’ at the seedling stage to control annual weeds. This may not always be necessary, but it will often make the difference between a good crop and a poor one. After this it is possible to control weeds in the dormant winter period using recommended sprays.
Fertiliser
In the first spring a small dressing of N can be advantageous, but after this the rhizobia will start working and fix enough N for the crop and also the grasses. Potash @ 50-60 kg per hectare is recommended each year in order to get good production.
Varieties
For the first time Cotswold Seeds are offering two bred strains of sainfoin. They are:
1. EMYR bred by the late Tibor Emeze in England. It is higher yielding than the older varieties and has a quick recovery rate after cutting. There is a small quantity of seed only; it is hoped to multiply more of this variety next year.
2. NOVA from Canada. Due to the shortage of European seed after a poor summer, they are importing this seed for the first time to the UK the variety has performed well in trials. It is derived from crossing several types selected for yield and hardiness. It has been found to be higher in growth than traditional Common sainfoin and also later to come into flower. This should produce very good yields for cutting.
A Farmers View
Hugh Pescod manages Broadwell Manor Farm near Lechlade, Gloucestershire for Mr Roger Goodenough. It is a demonstration farm for LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming). They have had sainfoin on this farm for many years. It fits in well with their sheep enterprise (300 breeding ewes) and they believe that the crop is benefice to the soil with its deep rooting system. It also supports the LEAF philosophy, which is to use sensible methods of farming which are efficient but also benefit the environment.
Hugh has found sainfoin to be of most benefit for sheep rather than for his dairy herd. He suggests a stocking rate of 3-4 ewes and lambs per acre when grazing. ‘The lambs do far and away better on it than grass. They put on more flesh more quickly’ he says.
He has decided to sow another 18 acres this spring. ‘It is too slow to get away in the autumn’ he says, so this time he is following a crop of westerwold ryegrass autumn sown. The ryegrass will be sprayed with ‘Roundup’ 10 days before cutting (mid-May approximately). This means he will be sowing the sainfoin when the ground has had time to warm up. The seed will be directly drilled into the sprayed stubble.
Forage Matters Spring 1999
- by Robin Hill of Cotswold Seeds
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