Feeding lambs proportional mixtures of lucerne (Medicago sativa) and forage brassica (Brassica napus) grown under warm and dry conditions

Abstract

Context: Metabolisable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) concentrations of forages are key determinants of lamb performance during pasture-based finishing. However, forage species often have unbalanced proportions of ME and CP, which can lead to below-optimum performance of lambs. This may be a problem with maturing lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) swards during dry summer conditions, and is a major challenge faced by grazing industries in Mediterranean environments. Aim: We investigated whether two summer forages, lucerne and forage brassica (Brassica napus L. cv. Winfred), with differing ME and CP concentration could improve the growth of maternal-composite lambs when offered in mixtures comp..