Sainfoin & Lucerne Field Day

One hundred years ago, sainfoin, loosely translated from French as 'Healthy Hay', was grown in one in seven fields in the Cotswolds for hay, forage and soil improvement. Sainfoin is protein rich with good nutritional balance. It’s extremely palatable to livestock and has very good nutritional balance as well having anthelmintic properties.  It is suitable for dry land with a high pH and its deep tap root serves it well in dry summers.  

Lucerne is highly productive, it reliably provides three to four cuts of silage annually and lasts for around five years.  It is also suitable for dry, naturally alkaline land. 

This course will look at how to choose between sainfoin and lucerne and which is best suited to your soil and farming system. The Cotswold Seeds team will cover seeds, sowing, establishment and management.  The day will include a farm walk to see the leys at FarmED which were sown up to 8 years ago and are still providing reliable grazing, hay and seed.  We will be joined by Lydia Smith who will talk about her research on novel forage legumes.

Dr Lydia Smith - Director of NIAB Innovation Farm & EastAgritech Innovation Hub

Lydia leads Interactive farmer-facing research into sustainable farming; especially soil health, crop genetic improvement and waste minimisation. She lectured in soil science, crop microbial interactions, environmental biology/land reclamation before moving to NIAB. NIAB-Innovation Farm, and the EAI Hub provide demonstration and study resources for SMEs and academics.

This course is suitable for farmers, advisors and students.

Tickets include refreshments and a seasonal lunch from the FarmED Kitchen.

This is a full-day course running from 10am to 4.30pm.

Tiered Pricing

Delivery of our mission is a collective effort and our values embrace inclusivity and diversity. We don’t want price to be a barrier to anyone visiting FarmED or attending our events.

FarmED Bursary

If cost is a barrier to you attending, then please do ask us for financial support. The FarmED Bursary offers free or subsidised places to those that will benefit most.

GREAT Farmers

As part of the GREAT project (see www.greatglos.co.uk) we can offer subsidised places to existing and aspiring farmers, growers and advisers in Gloucestershire to the suite of regenerative agriculture and agroecological transition courses at FarmED. To book, please select the Discounted Ticket option below. You will be asked for a few eligibility details including evidence of your involvement in regenerative agriculture and your potential impact in Gloucestershire.

North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster

We can offer subsidised places to members of the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster (https://www.cotswoldfarmers.org/).  To book, please select the Discounted Ticket option below.

We like to take photos and occasionally videos of our events to use on our website and social media, please let us know if you do not want to be photographed.