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Establishment of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) pastures on organic dairy farms in the Mountain West USA

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Abstract

Birdsfoot trefoil (BFT, Lotus corniculatus L.) is a nonbloating perennial forage legume well suited to ruminant production on pastures. It is persistent under irrigation in cool, dry western US climates, and has been found to increase meat and milk production compared with other forages. The establishment of BFT pastures was evaluated on five commercial organic dairy farms in southern Idaho and northern Utah. Participating producers broadcast seeded 4-ha BFT pastures between 26 July and 8 September 2011 at a rate of 25 kg pure live seed ha−1. Birdsfoot trefoil and weed densities were systematically sampled 17 to 23 days after first BFT emergence in autumn 2011 and again in spring 2012. On all farms, BFT seedling density was high, averaging 690 plants m−2 in the autumn after planting and 340 plants m−2 the following spring. However, weed density varied between 130 and 750 plants m−2 in the autumn of 2011 and 240 and 410 plants m−2 in the spring of 2012. On the three farms where weed density was equal to or greater than BFT density in the spring of 2012, spring BFT cover averaged less than 10 %. On the two farms where spring weed density was less than BFT density, spring BFT cover was 48 and 66 %. These two pastures produced 6000 to 7600 kg of dry matter ha−1 by 20 June 2012 and were well enough established to support grazing for the remainder of the summer. Birdsfoot trefoil establishment was enhanced under sprinkler compared with flood irrigation.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah State University, and approved as journal paper number 8600. Funding was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative Grant Number 2010-51300-21283. We thank Dr. Xin Dai for assistance with statistical design and analysis and Ben Crabb and Chris McGinty of the USU RS/GIS Lab for map design and GPS training.

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  1. Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322-4820, USA

    Sara R. Hunt, Jennifer W. MacAdam & Jennifer R. Reeve

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  1. Sara R. Hunt
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  2. Jennifer W. MacAdam
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  3. Jennifer R. Reeve
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Correspondence to Jennifer W. MacAdam.

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Hunt, S.R., MacAdam, J.W. & Reeve, J.R. Establishment of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) pastures on organic dairy farms in the Mountain West USA. Org. Agr. 5, 63–77 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-014-0091-1

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