Sainfoin

Sainfoin, the ultimate forage crop

When studying farming text books of the 1920’s and the 1930’s, Sainfoin was a popular crop well used and well understood by farmers. It is a legume which means it fixes nitrogen, it has very deep roots which means it is very much part of an anti-compaction strategy, it is a top class animal feed and being perennial it carries on year after year, which means its establishment cost is amortized over a long period of time.

What is Sainfoin?

Want to learn more about what Sainfoin is, click in the button below to go to the Wikipedia page.

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At Lower Pertwood Farm we use it for all these things but most importantly we use it to produce very high volumes of organic matter that remain in the field. In a typical year we would graze the crop quite early, we would then leave it to mature to the level shown in the pictures below, we would then harvest it for seed and depending on the weather conditions probably get another opportunity to graze it for winter. In spring it comes fighting back as if nothing had happened.

Surprising Science behind a Forgotten Forage

“This guide is an output from the EU-funded project LegumePlus that investigated the benefits of growing sainfoin and other forage legumes to help improve protein utilization in ruminants, combat parasitic nematodes and aid nitrogen fixation.” Read more on Agricology…

Sainfoin, the ultimate forage crop

What is Sainfoin?

Surprising Science behind a Forgotten Forage

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