Sainfoin Coming Back As Dryland Forage Crop

Sainfoin Coming Back As Dryland Forage Crop 32-1-7 After unsuccessful attempts at getting alfalfa stands started during especially dry summers, Wally Blain finally turned to sainfoin, an old legume forage crop that his father grew in the 1970's. He planted 150 acres of sainfoin on his Joliet, Montana, farm in the spring of 2006 and was pleased with his first cutting in 2007. "It made two tons an acre, which is good for this area," Blain says. "It did way better than alfalfa would have. It grew up to my waist." Even though the sainfoin was coarse when it was harvested on the first of July, Blain says his registered Angus cattle - even newly weaned calves - clean it right up. Since cattle can't bloat on sainfoin because of its condensed tannin levels, it makes excellent pasture after the hay is taken off. Growing sainfoin is similar to growing alfalfa, says Dennis Cash, forage specialist at Montana State University. Because sainfoin seeds are about 10 times bigger than alfalfa, University recommendations are 30 to 35 lbs. seed/acre dryland and 40 to 45 lbs./acre on irrigated land. For many years the large amount of seed required made it expensive to plant sainfoin, but the price dropped in 2006 to as low as $1.50/lb., which attracted producers such as Blain. Blain seeded less than the recommendations at 18 lbs./acre - 2 lbs. alfalfa seed, 3 lbs. grass seed and 13 lbs. sainfoin seed. Later in the summer he cut the stand to clip off weed heads and was pleased with the density of his fairly weed-free stand in 2007. He mowed the sainfoin with a 16-ft. swather and had big windrows, which took about five days to dry before being baled into large round bales. After harvest the forage seemed to die out, but greened up again with moisture in late September. Blain says he is optimistic about another good crop in 2008. Though yields will decrease, established dryland sainfoin should last about as long as alfalfa, Cash says. The forage is suitable for areas that have low rainfall averages (12 in. per year and up) and climates similar to Montana's. "It's susceptible to root rot and doesn't last as long under irrigation," Cash says. "And it's more sensitive to acid soils than alfalfa. The two big advantages are that it's immune to alfalfa weevil and 100 percent bloat safe," Cash says. Sainfoin works well for Montana pasture management - taking one cutting of hay and then using regrowth for pasturing the herd. Finding seed may be the biggest problem, Blain says. He made many calls before finding available seed 150 miles away. Blain adds there is one more benefit to growing sainfoin. "It's the prettiest stuff you've ever seen," he says. The rose-pink flower makes a field look like a vast flower patch. To tease his wife, Blain gave her a bouquet of blooming sainfoin with its red flowers. He ended up bringing bouquets home for three weeks. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wally Blain, Rt. 1, P. O. Box 14, Joliet, Montana 59041 (ph 406 962-3361) or Dennis Cash, University of Montana, forage specialist, dcash@montana.edu; www.animalrangeextension.montana.edu/articles/forage/Species/sainfoim2006.htm.

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