Some pertinent thoughts on Lucerne as a crop in the deep deep south from Wade Paterson (BASF)

Lucerne is staging a big resurgence in Otago and Southland this season with some rural supply company reps reporting increases in seed sales of over 40%.

In the main the increase appears to be driven by the dairy industry with a number of dairy farmers growing lucerne for high quality silage and hay.

Central Otago has traditionally been one of the main lucerne growing areas of New Zealand and farmers in the region have normally grown the crop for their sheep and cattle, lamb fattening or for sale. However with the growth of the dairy industry in both provinces the demand for of farm winter grazing the area is now host to large numbers of dairy cows during the winter months. This has opened up opportunities for Central Otago farmers many who have taken on winter grazing for dairy cows. As dairy cow owners are demanding high value supplements more of these farmers are now growing the crop to use as a supplement for turnips, kale and swedes and in the process are moving away from lower value supplements such as barley and pea straw.

With greater numbers of new lucerne species and dormancy types available than ever before, coupled with the increased demand it would appear that the continued growth and popularity of lucerne seems assured.