Lucerne (Medicago sativa) has traditionally been grown for provision of supplements in winter. However the benefits of direct fed lucerne over traditional grass based pastures have been highlighted in two Sustainable Farming Fund projects. The first of these was in Marlborough and arose out of desperation after 6 years of below average rainfall in the 1990’s. On the Avery property, Bonavaree, the lucerne grazing management system had significantly lifted the profitability of the farm.
The outcomes of this project can be read at the following links.
Beyond Reasonable Drought – Adapting Dryland farming to Climate change
Landcare website
Seasonal priorities for successful grazing management of lucerne
written by Prof Derrick Moot