The researcher drew attention to the need to look for alternative and economically viable forages that allow reducing chemical synthesis fertilization and soil erosion, such as forage legumes.. These are forages with high protein content, said the researcher, which can be produced on the same farm.
Emission reduction
In addition, Adela Martínez added, they suppose a reduction in the synthesis of methane in the rumen and the emission of said greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, and on the other hand, thanks to the symbiosis with the bacteria of the genus Rhizobium, these legumes fix nitrogen atmospheric, enriching the content of the soil in said fertilizing element and helping to regulate the nitrogen cycle with the consequent environmental benefit.
Among the forage legumes that can be introduced into dairy farms – in reality it is about recovering them, since they were used in the past -, the Serida researcher cited for example forage peas, forage beans – known in Asturias as May beans – or lupins. These forages can replace the Italian ryegrass that is currently grown in winter to feed cattle. “We have a very good situation in Asturias for the production of these forages,” said Adela Martínez.
This interest in forage legumes –among which is also alfalfa, the most cultivated in the country, assuming fifty percent of this type of production– has to do with the environmental restrictions established by the new Agrarian Policy. Common (PAC) 2021-2027. “You have to go to a livestock with a reduction of slurry and manure, which converts waste into usable resources on the farm,” added the researcher.
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