Description

Practice abstract

Reducing variable costs is a requirement on many livestock farms, as well as optimising the daily farming routines to counter the lack of skilled manpower. Introducing legumes in pastures helps to reduce the use of fertilisers and concentrates. In a Mediterranean dairy sheep farm, pastures are cultivated in paired paddocks: each grass or cereal pastures is sown nearby a pure-legume pasture or a legume-based pasture. Sheep graze after the morning milking, which is the only one carried out per day, despite a small loss of milk yield (5%) compared to the twice a day milking. Each day, sheep graze on the grass or cereal pastures in the morning, and in the pure-legume or legume-based pastures in the afternoon (part-time grazing). During springtime and long days, sheep complete their forage ration grazing again on the grass-based pasture. The farmer adjusts accordingly the administrations of concentrates, considering grass availability and quality of pastures. Clean water is available in each paddock. A rotational grazing scheme is applied in the management of paired paddocks (from 1 to 2-3 days or more, depending on grass growth). Grazing grasses or cereals first and then legumes has two advantages: preventing health disorders related to the consumption of legumes in sheep and, legumes have a better quality in late morning. With this management, sheep increase their grass and protein intake, and the farmer enjoys more free time in the evening, when he only has to recover sheep and feeding them hay. The legume-based pastures can be annual, but it requires annual soil tillage, or permanent crops, when self-reseeding legumes are preferred (e.g. subterranean clover, burr medic). This latter choice would allow to save fuel and time and preserve soil. 

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