High nutrition crop harvested
17 February 2015
THIS crop, being cut near Te Teko, is lucerne.
The crop is estimated to produce about 600 large bales for Kawerau’s Tui Glen Station.
Tui Glen director Tom Tarver said lucerne was high in protein and was being made for the haylage, manufacturing, garden centre and dairy markets.
Tractor driver Yoji Yoshihara, of Japan, with a handful of lucerne, has worked at Tui Glen Station for 10 years.
He described the crop as “very good stuff”.
Tui Glen covers 1500 hectares and Mr Tarver said the station was mainly involved in drystock farming, cropping, dairy grazing and breeding Jersey service bulls.
According to Wikipedia, lucerne or alfalfa is the most cultivated forage legume in the world and is primarily used as a feed for high-producing dairy cows due to its high protein content and digestible fibre.
It is also used as a feed for beef cattle, horses, sheep and goats.
Wikipedia says alfalfa may also be fed to people as sprouts in salads and sandwiches and as a dietary supplement in forms such tablets, powders and tea.
The plant grows up to a metre high and its deep root system makes it resilient during drought. Photo Keith Melville
Source: Whakatane Beacon