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Kura Clover Grazing StudyRick Exner If you have ventured over the river to the Lancaster, Wisconsin research station of the UW, you have probably seen the experimental plots of kura clover. But until recently, there were questions about the value of kura clover in Midwestern agriculture. One potential positive: the plant’s vigorous system of rhizomes (underground stems) suggested that stands should not weaken over time as do stands other forage legumes. A potential negative: kura clover requires patience and good management to establish.
Now the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (www.wisc.edu/cias) has released results of a three-year study in which Holstein steers were rotationally grazed on an established kura/grass mix and a red clover/grass mixture. Seasonal beef production averaged 911 lbs per acre with kura/grass and 714 lbs per acre with red clover/grass. Carrying capacity averaged 15 percent greater in the kura paddocks. While the red clover had to be reseeded annually to maintain 30 percent legume in the forage, the kura grazing averaged 50 percent legume content. In fact, the kura tended to weaken out its bromegrass companion crop, allowing other grasses to appear. Because of the leafiness of kura clover, the kura/grass mixture contained fiber and protein concentrations similar to first-bloom alfalfa according to the report’s authors, Ken Albrecht, Francisco Mourino, Dan Schaefer, and Arin Crooks. In fact 3 percent of steers on kura/grass died of bloat, so the researchers recommend a bloat-preventing feed additive. |
