University of Missouri Extension Regional Livestock Field Specialist Patrick Davis says the time for frost-seed clovers and lespedeza is now.
“They grow well with cool season grasses in Missouri and improve spring and summer pastures,” Davis said.
Davis said adding legumes to grazing pastures can improve cattle performance and forage production.
“Proper establishment is important to incorporation and persistence of these legumes,” Davis said.
He urges producers to work with their local MU Extension agronomist when seeding legumes.
MU Extension also offers guidelines online at extension.missouri.edu/p/g4652.
“Clovers and lespedeza can be seeded by drill or broadcast,” Davis said.
Davis said he prefers drilling because it improves seed-to-soil contact for better establishment.
“If you broadcast seed, use cattle hoof action as well as the freezing and thawing process to work the seed into the soil,” Davis said. “Legumes improve year-round cattle grazing opportunities when added to cool season grass pastures.”
Clovers enhance grazing in the spring while lespedeza improves grazing during late spring and summer.
Davis said proper grazing management of legumes improves persistence and cattle performance.
He recommends rotational grazing to prevent overgrazing.
“The proper grazing height and rest period help to maintain white clover in cool season pastures,” Davis said.
Graze pastures to 4-inch stubble height and then rest pastures three to four weeks to maintain mixtures of white clover, fescue and orchardgrass.
“The best time to graze red clover is when about half the plants are blooming,” Davis said. “At this point, the forage will yield a feeding value similar to alfalfa.”
Cattle bloat is a concern when grazing high-protein, highly digestible legumes.
“Incorporate white clover in a mixed grass stand or slowly adapt cattle to very thick stands of clover to reduce bloat,” Davis said. “Another way to reduce cattle bloat is to provide supplemental proxalene or bloat blocks to cattle.”
Lespedeza is a non-bloating legume that improves grazing in summer months and a drought-tolerant, warm season legume that provides summer grazing in cool season mixed pastures.
“Do not overfertilize pastures with lespedeza,” Davis said. “Most fertilizer applications containing more than 30 pounds of nitrogen per acre will reduce stands of lespedeza. Lespedeza is an annual but will come back each year if it reseeds.”
Davis said clovers and lespedeza also help to reduce fescue toxicosis in cattle by diluting fescue pastures.
He also said adding legumes results in better quality forages, improved cattle production and higher profits.
To learn more about fescue toxicosis in cattle, see “Tall Fescue Toxicosis” at extension.missouri.edu/publications/g4669.
For more information, contact a local MU Extension agronomy or livestock field specialist.
Find more resources on improving grasslands at extension.missouri.edu/programs/nrcs-mu-grasslands-project.
