Ladino Clover

8/17/2013

I just struck old Extension publication gold! I was doing a search for cover crop prices, stumbled on a piece of info that said ladino clover was a good, low fiber forage for pigs, and did a search for "ladino clover pigs." I found this great 1951 Oregon State publication. They actually fed hogs on pasture and measured their gain with differing amounts of supplementation. I've been wanting exactly this kind of information!

Here's the main result. An acre of irrigated ladino clover pasture replaces 2,200 - 2,700 pounds of grain, which is the feed requirement of about 2-3 grower pigs, and a feed value of about $600 scaled to the cost of commercial feed. With managed rotational grazing, the yield could probably be a bit better. As a comparison, barley grown for grain produces about a ton/acre, but it much more expensive to get into the belly of the hogs.

I was going to plant red clover, but I think I'm going to go with ladino now. This is really cool!

12 Comments

Bill link

8/17/2013 09:22:10 pm

We have both red and Ladino clover in our pastures, but have found the Ladino tends to hold up better. Pigs love it. Thus the expression, "As happy as a pig in clover." :)

Jeff

8/18/2013 01:05:42 am

I'd never heard that expression before, but I think I'll start using it!

As a side note, I rotated the pigs to a new paddock yesterday and watched as they walked over the whole 3/4 acre before finding the small patch of white clover and eating it all down.

Bruce King link

8/18/2013 06:04:04 am

That was a great find; clover grows well here, too.

Jay

8/18/2013 10:25:53 pm

You might find this site interesting. I don't have any animals yet but one of these days I'm going to have some pigs on pasture.
http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/depts/pig_page/new_farm_archives/ideal_grazers/index.shtml

Jeff

8/19/2013 12:37:33 am

Good find!

Jay

8/19/2013 06:03:13 am

http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G2360

Had this one in a folder. Can you grow rape?

Jeff

8/19/2013 07:06:43 am

I have a 50 pound bag of rapeseed that I bought last year and was going to plant this spring, but because of the move to the new place couldn't get it in the ground in time. Ladino clover is attractive, though, because of it's semi-perennial nature and ability to do well in the low pH soils we have here in the NW.

Rich

8/19/2013 01:07:00 pm

Have you ever heard about or read any of people like Gabe Brown's ideas about planting cover-crop cocktails (mixes of at least 3 or more cover-crops)? Or, you would plant something like rape, red clover, landino clover, and oats to build your soils and feed your pigs.

The basic idea is that you need a mix of grasses, legumes, and broadleaves to really get the maximum benefits of the cover crops.

Most of the people advocating cover-crop cocktails are usually grazing cattle and growing cash crops like corn, soybeans, and wheat, but the same ideas should apply to grazing pigs and growing vegetables.

If your interested in more info try going to:

http://www.brownsranch.us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWXCLVCJWTU

Jeff

8/19/2013 01:36:04 pm

I hadn't heard of Gabe Brown. Thanks for the link.

I'm always keen on diversifying the species on a a specific piece of land. It makes sense for all sorts of reasons. Right now, I have a tad more than 4 acres and I'm only using one for vegetables. I can't imagine doing much more than 1 or 2 acres of vegetables a year, and I'd like to eventually expand my pig grazing acreage, so it probably won't work for me to do a straight up vegetables-cover/forage crop rotation. Most of the cover crops that are going to do well in a mix are annuals, and if I'm not going to be plowing up the pasture every year, I'd prefer to have something that will last a bit longer. Clover will certainly last longer than something like rape or buckwheat (although it will succumb to weed pressure eventually). In reality, what I'll probably end up with is a fast growing grass dominant cover in the early spring, and after a few grazings/clippings, I'll get the clover to start to come on in spades. I'd prefer a couple grass species that have relatively low fiber (sorry reed canary grass, you don't make the cut.

To be a profitable forage crop, the cost of seed, time spent tilling and planting, risk, and digestibility of the mature stand need to be cheaper than just buying commercial feed and letting your pasture grow weeds. The longer you can make the crop last without reseeding, the more money you make in the end.

George

8/19/2013 08:01:30 pm

You could also plant some winter squash in the clover field (they do well there) and let the pits have it down later in the year (next year that is).

One piece of equipment you may want to consider purchasing (or borrowing) in the future is a seed drill / no till seeder e.g. a Tye 7' Drill. You can intersow annuals next year into the established clover areas. Run the pigs through in the spring on an acre or what have you then go back and throw in some rape, oats, rye, or even some alfalfa...

You could also throw some grass in the other box, orchard, timothy etc...

George

8/19/2013 08:04:25 pm

I forgot to mention, if you plant the rape, or alfalfa... sulfur and calcium will be some important things to look at on your soil tests. Both use a good bit of it....

We foliar feed our alfalfa sulfur at least once a year.

Cathy

8/22/2013 12:03:20 am

Doubt that Ladino would do as well as Red clover in our dry sandy soils. We throw out a fair amount of Red clover on bare spots and it seems to help keep the weeds down and improves the pastures. I haven't been doing it long enough to see that it is reseeding well on it's on.

Ladino Clover

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