No - that’s too high unless you are planning on mob stocking to conduct a clean-up graze (usually in winter prior to applying weed control). For this, you’d only want a mob of hungry ewes this large on a paddock for 24-48 hours. As mentioned in the video, stocking rate alters throughout the year depending on the amount of feed on offer and the stock class being used. Generally, we start grazing in spring with 14 ewes + twin lambs/ha. For system consisting of 6 paddocks that are in total 10 ha size paddocks - this would equate to 140 ewes plus twin lambs/ha in a single mob rotationally grazing the paddocks in sequence. A shift to the new paddock occurring at 3-7 day intervals (moving on when the high quality leaf and soft stem have been ingested). This means that in spring grazing is initiated in the first paddock when it is ~10 cm high. Stock move onto the next paddock in the rotation about 3 days later. (Height in paddocks 2-6 will have increase during this time first rotation). The aim is to be coming back to this first paddock on the second rotation when the herbage is 25-30 cm tall. At times if feed supply is exceeding demand a paddock can be conserved rather than grazed and the mob simply skips that paddock and moves to the next one where the feed quality is higher. After weaning (late spring) production livestock are finished on lucerne - with a general stocking rate of about 30 weaned lambs/ha grazing each paddock in the rotation for 5-7 days before a shift. Again - to maximise liveweight gain and finish the animals - you don’t want t push them to eat the lower quality stem and they are moved when the soft tem and leaves have been stripped off. Animals are drafted and sent to the works as they reach target weights - meaning stocking rates vary. In summer/autumn feed on offer may decline when there isn’t enough soil moisture to maintain growth. At these times we move to stocking at 30 hoggets/ha. In late summer we also increase the regrowth duration to allow the lucerne to flower, which allows the root reserves depleted in spring to recharge. Animals may graze for up to 10 days before being shifted to the next paddock depending on the quantity of feed on offer, how hard you want the tougher stem material cleaned up and how much feed there is ahead of the mob in the remaining pastures in the rotation. More information is available on our website - drylandpastures.com/research-projects/lucerne-research/ and drylandpastures.com/frequently-asked-questions/ would be the best places to start. With details of grazing rotations outlined in Moot et al. 2016 for a dryland system (doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2016.78.516)

@DrylandPastures Thank you very much for taking the time to write up such a detailed response, may the ALMIGHTY grant you success in this world, guidance, and success in the hereafter. I'm definitely gonna have a look at the information. I apologize for the late response. I got a strike from YT

Hi Tarquin - glad it was useful. In our environment lucerne does not grow through winter so we need alternative feed for winter. We graze animals outside all year - so in winter we use brassica and other crops for about 3 months when lucerne cannot be grazed. However, in warmer environments the winter shut down period will be shorter and in cooler environments it may be longer - in our cold high country regions lucerne may only be grazed for about 3 months before summer dry and then winter cold shut it down. As for grazing - the duration of each grazing will also depend on your environment. We aim to graze at about 30 cm height or around 9-10 nodes as a trade-off between quantity and quality. We suggest a 6-paddock rotation but in spring that might mean returning to the first paddock in 30 days while it gets longer later in the summer as things dry out - the aim is always to enter the paddock at about 30 cm - of course for the first rotation we need to start the first paddock at about 10 cm or the last paddock will be too tall when we start (We published an example in NZGA I n2016 that might be useful). Each paddock is grazed for 3-5 days (maximum of 10) before moving on to the next paddock in the sequence. This continues for as long as active growth occurs. Pastures are destocked when soil moisture is depleted usually in mid- to late-summer. Stock return to graze after autumn break rains allow growth to resume - however in the autumn the lucerne is left to reach 50% flowering at least once. This allows the root reserves to be replenished for the next spring. We generally destock over winter due to limited growth - this allows allows a winter clean-up graze and a winter weed control treatment. For us the single winter grazing is recommended to be finished by the beginning of July- mid winter. Our recommended stocking rate is 12-14 ewes/ha plus twin lambs at foot in spring. A period of 2-3 weeks set stocking in late pregnancy/early lactation is permitted at 6-8 ewes/ha in early spring once the lucerne reaches about 10 cm in height (approx. 1000 kg DM/ha). However, from 3 -4 weeks animals must be boxed up and moved to a rotational grazing system or you run the risk of shortening the life of your lucerne stand. Further information on lucerne grazing can be found on the Lucerne Research page of our website (drylandpastures.com/research-projects/lucerne-research/). Also see our “Practical Lucerne Grazing Management Guide” here: drylandpastures.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=mla_named_transfer&mla_item=practical-lucerne-grazing-management&mla_disposition=attachment And our open access paper is available here: Moot DJ, Bennett SM, Mills A, Smith MC (2016) Optimal grazing management to achieve high yields and utilisation of dryland lucerne. Journal of New Zealand Grasslands 78, 27-33. doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2016.78.516.

@@DrylandPastures Thank you for the in depth response and the links. I am in very different environment where the lucern grows vigorously year round, irrigated as we are semi-arid. I was particularly curious about the incidence of bloat, red gut and other issues related to grazing pure lucern. Other sources seem to suggest that it is best for the health of the animals to rotate the flock between the lucern and a more fibrous feed or pasture.

@@tarquinbristow Hi Tarquin, we have quite a bit of information about animal health issues and ways to avoid/manage them on our website, which would be worth you taking a look at. Maybe start with the the animal management subsection of the FAQ's (drylandpastures.com/frequently-asked-questions/faq-lucerne-management-animal/) and maybe some of the articles on the blog. We also have detailed information on animal management in relation to increased coumestrol content which can affect fecundity on the Lucerne Research page. There are multiple ways to deal with bloat such as never letting stock enter a new lucerne paddock empty (move them a bit earlier - they need gut fill so they don't gorge themselves on high quality lush feed when they enter a new paddock), use bloat capsules or a bloat oil added to the water. A lot of farmers here have had a success in increasing fiber on offer by cutting strips in the paddock 1-2 days before the stock enter. They can then eat the wilted herbage thus increasing the total fiber content of the feed ingested. Alternatively hay can be put out. We also recommend salt licks are always available to grazing stock, especially on the monocultures. It takes time for the rumen to adjust to a new feed source so if you keep moving animals from grass to lucerne and back you may not see the full benefit of the lucerne translate into improvements in liveweight gain. As always watching your stock for signs of potential health issues is very important especially if you are new to direct grazing. We'd generally recommend following the best practice guidelines at first - once you've got it right then you'd have a bit more flexibility and be able to tell if the changes are having a positive or negative effect. Hope that helps.

The species is the perennial Lupinus polyphyllus, known as either Russell lupin or perennial lupin in New Zealand. We used it because wild populations persist very well in this region of the South Island high country. Its ability to grow in acidic soils (pH <5.5) with high exchangeable aluminium (soil Al >3, which is toxic to clovers and lucerne) and low soil phosphorus (Olsen P < 10) makes it a well-adapted legume to soils in this environment. No risk of toxic alkaloids as explained above. This project is now complete. All relevant information can on the High Country Forage Improvement research project page of our website: drylandpastures.com/research-projects/high-country-forage-improvement/

Hi, sorry about the delay replying. In response to your question "No - Lupinosis is a mycotoxicosis caused by the ingestion of toxins produced by a fungus and has not been recorded on sheep grazing perennial lupin in New Zealand. It is condition that occurs in Australia when stock graze mature annual lupins and out-of-season rains encourage fungal growth." This project is now complete. All relevant information can on the High Country Forage Improvement research project page of our website: drylandpastures.com/research-projects/high-country-forage-improvement/

Response from Professor Moot: Hi Pedro, I have spent 30 years adapting farm systems for climate change - unfortunately I don't see the world stopping burning fossil fuel any time soon. My commentary stated this was about regenerative agriculture in a New Zealand context. I am agronomist and proud of the farm systems that we have developed to deal with climate change and reduce biodiversity loss. Indeed the NZ sheep and beef systems shown in the video have reduced emissions intensity by 30% since 1990 and offset either all or nearly all of their emissions with tree planting and retiring areas of natural biodiversity. I am worried that reduced production from wealthy EU countries has, and is, leading to biodiversity loss in the developing countries of the south, that are increasingly required to produce their food.

When the top couple of cm dry out it creates a barrier to further evaporative losses. Same reason a fallow is often created prior to establishing a new crop. If the crop has also been grazed and has no green leaf area then transpiration losses though the plant are minimal - plant demand for water increases as the canopy grows. Aim is to water the crop, not the weeds that may germinate when the crop canopy is low, thus increasing stand longevity.

Alfalfa shoots (such as those available in the supermarket) are only a few days old and thus the coumesterol will not have become elevated in the freshly germinated seedlings. Interestingly legumes such as red clover are sometimes harvested for their formononetin content - which is then used as an oestrogen replacement for menopausal women.

We will never say that bloat won’t occur - but there are several strategies used to reduce the risk. The most important thing is to avoid grazing young, very lush lucerne (alfalfa) with hungry stock as they will gorge themselves. Also - watch for changes in weather - mild hot weather seems to bring on bloat issues - so knowing which weather is the most problematic is one thing to keep an eye on. But never putting hungry stock on lucerne is most important. Other mitigation strategies include: 1 - mowing alternating strips in the lucerne 24-48 hrs before stock entry. The herbage will wilt and the cows can then not select the leaf component so will also consume more fibre. This occurs without a noticeable decrease in nutritive value and dilute the ingestion of fresh, lush uncut lucerne. This strategy has been successfully used on commercial farms. 2 - bloat oils in the troughs - this is routinely used but not relied on as the only strategy. 3 - restricted grazing (e.g. stock for 1-2 hours on lucerne before afternoon milking having had time to eat grass in the period after morning milking - this seems to increase total intake as the lucerne provides the ability to consume more total feed. 4 - The use of older luerne/grass mixes (runout older lucerne monocultures are oversown with a companion grass to extend stand life for up to 2 years and this is grazed as an introductory feed to allow the rumen to adapt before moving to solely grazing lucerne). .. at all times salt licks should be available to any stock class direct grazing lucerne. Hope this helps

@@DrylandPastures Thank you.

Thanks for your comment. I think we should probably explain the biology behind this brief comment so grazing management can be modified under specific conditions. So: No lucerne will not become “poisonous”. There are several things that can happen to lucerne/alfalfa when it is very dry. The leaves become very small (cell expansion and division are some of the first plant processes affected as water stress develops) and the plant may still be fixing nitrogen. If you then get a rainfall event after a period of water stress the nitrogen will travel from the roots to the shoots as nitrate in solute as plant roots take up that newly fallen rainfall to stimulate plant growth. The small leaves formed during the water stress period do not have the capacity to expand and cope with all of the nitrate so for a short time there can be a build up of nitrate. This can be toxic to animals at high levels - and there was one incidence of this that I know off this last summer in NZ. So after a dry period do not be in a rush to put animals back onto lucerne. The risk of nitrate is increased by the overcast conditions that occur when it rains. This reduces the suns energy and therefore there is less energy available for the plant to convert nitrate into protein - so dull overcast days after a rain event following a long dry period can cause excessive nitrate. This is easily managed if you know what the problem is - avoid grazing lucerne in dull conditions after a long dry period - let the plant recovery some leaf area to minimize the risk of high nitrates in small leaves. The risk is the same for e.g. rape crops, or other specialist summer forages. The lucerne may have higher soil N levels which increase the risk. This is not a common problem but can occur. The nitrate risk is similar to that farmers are aware of in winter when feeding brassica crops - dull/overcast days cause nitrate levels to rise in the plant because there is not enough energy to convert to protein. If the day is warm with a light breeze the risk increases further because more nitrate is brought to the plant from the soil from a higher transpiration rate. If a cold night follows then the risk is high and animals are kept off the feed in the morning until the sun is shining and the nitrate levels drop -as it is converted in protein.

Hi Kevin, this project is now finished but a list of outputs from the project - including links were relevant - can be found on the "Research Projects" page of the Dryland Pastures website: (drylandpastures.com/research-projects/high-country-forage-improvement/). Also check out the Scientific Publications page - I know some of the work was published in open access journals and is freely available to read. Thanks for your interest.

Not really able to advise without a lot more information. Factors including location, topography, soils, climate, costs, paddock size, what type of systems you actually have access to and what you're planning on using the lucerne for will all impact what is best (even any local legislation on volume and timing of access to water may need to be considered). Email us at [email protected] with some more information and we'll take a look or try and organise a time you can ring and talk directly to the Prof.

Hi, thanks for your comment. under certain circumstances bloat can occur for stock direct grazing lucerne/alfalfa (although it can also occur on other high quality pastures and is not limited to alfalfa). There are, however, several ways to reduce the potential risk. These include ensuring stock are "full" when entering an alfalfa paddock (if they aren't hungry when moved you reduce the risk of them gorging on the lush pasture), providing access to fibre, use of bloat capsules or bloat oils, wilting strips of alfalfa in the paddock, giving the stock access to a mix of grass and lucerne and several other strategies which suit most situations. Salt licks should be on offer at all times when stock graze lucerne. The Frequently Asked Questions page of our website contains answers to many common questions - check out the "Lucerne Management - Animal" section here: www.lincoln.ac.nz/Research/Current-Research/Dryland-Pastures-Research/Frequently-Asked-Questions Also check the most current alfalfa/lucerne information in the "Lucerne Research" section of our Research Projects page here: www.lincoln.ac.nz/Research/Current-Research/Dryland-Pastures-Research/Research-Projects

Hi Chandani, Thanks for watching. Lucerne is like any other species - no access to water = no growth. When growing lucerne under rainfed conditions you are effectively using the stored soil moisture for growth. The advantage of lucerne is that it then maximises spring water use because it is never nitrogen deficient. Therefore it grows well in spring when animal demand is increasing. How much it will grow depends on the conditions in your environment during the growing season. When the soil moisture runs out and rainfall is insufficient to recharge the soil profile then growth will slow/cease. This is why we recommend sowing lucerne on your best and deepest soils - the deep taproot means it can access soil water stored deeper in the soil than many other shallow rooted pasture species. The trick here is to ensure you establish into a paddock - well prepared after a weed free fallow. Then let the stand grow until it flowers so it has time to develop its root system. Last year on our very stony soils with no spring rainfall we ran out of water in early November. In others years the spring rainfall has allowed those crops to grow well into December. On our deepest soils it did not run out water until February.