On a recent farm visit I was surprised when a client took me to see a field of Lucerne which is just entering its seventh harvest season.  It has been cut for silage three times every year and looks as if it will keep going. This crop is providing great winter forage at very low the cost.   The farm commented that the crop often out yielded newly seeded leys.

Obviously the soil type suits the crops, the soil is free draining and open with a pH between 6.5 and 7.2.

The crop has been managed entirely to organic standards and so has only received annual dressings of farm yard manure / compost every autumn, but it has been allowed to grow quite tall after the third cut before the winter frost has killed off the top growth.  This has allowed the crop to build the root structure needed to draw on the nutrients available deep in the soil.  We found large roots down at 18inches.

Whist the crop had some docks in it these were not causing any loss of yield and the original companion grass was ensuring that there was always a green cover.  This stopped weed seeds germinating and provided an ideal environment for the dead leaf material to be incorporated back into the soil during the winter.

Want to know more, please contact William in the Andover Office, at williamwaterfield@fcgagric.com