Establishing a Cool Season Legume Grass Finishing Pasture

View the project report

Commodities

Practices

• Animal Production: pasture renovation
• Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research

• A major challenge for an organic grass-fed/finished operation is quality finishing pasture.  Such a pasture must be better quality than one that supports a cow-calf herd.  Historically, organic grass-fed/finished operations haven't been investigated; one (SW17-046) assessed dairy cattle performance.  Our research question asks if a legume-grass (various legumes) pasture can be established under organic conditions (no herbicide, no commercial fertilizer), at three environmentally different locations, that produces a density comparable to nearby existing grass pastures.
• We propose seeding acreages of approximately 40, 10, and 10 acres to sainfoin-grasses,  sainfoin-orchardgrass, and both sainfoin-orchardgrass and birdsfoot trefoil-orchardgrass.  The first acreage has three sainfoin varieties mixed (Eski, Remont, Shoshone) nearby, the second supported Eski in the past, while the third is slightly acidic.  If these pastures produce a density comparable to existing grass pastures, their establishment is beneficial to the environment and pasture finishing due to the presence of legumes (https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaa278.139).
• We will determine if the legume-grass seedings can be established at comparable densities as nearby existing grass pastures, or not.  If they can, there are two major benefits.  First, the legume contributes benefits to the soil and forage that are different from those of grass.  Second, sainfoin and birdsfoot trefoil do not cause bloat in cattle, which makes them very useful for grazing in an organic grass-fed/finishing operation.  These benefits are important for sustainability, the first because of its environmental contributions and the second because of its economic importance.
• Results will be disseminated to local networks by ranch tours and presentation.

1. At two locations, can a sainfoin-grass pasture be established that is generally comparable in density to a nearby existing grass pasture?
2. At a third location, can a sainfoin-grass pasture and a birdsfoot trefoil-grass pasture be established that is generally comparable in density to a nearby existing grass pasture?
3.  Disseminate the results from the above objectives to local networks.