RAW MATERIALS ▶▶▶
Growing alfalfa in France as a high protein forage
Livestock farmers around the world are benefiting from using alfalfa as a high protein feed for cattle thanks to its high protein content.
F
Fourth cut alfal- fa being har- vested in France.
BY CHRIS MCCULLOUGH
rance is one of the major producers of alfalfa and ex- ports the crop after drying it, to a number of different countries, some of which are affected by hot temper- atures and long spells of drought. France itself was
also affected by drought for the past two years and as a result many farmers decided to grow alfalfa as the grass was not growing. Around 80% of the alfalfa in France is grown in the main farming region east of Paris but in all of France 10,000 farmers grow the crop for themselves or for various drying plants operated by co-ops. In a good year up to four cuts of alfalfa can be taken annually with a yield of 14 tonnes per hectare from the first cut. That average yield falls with each cut that follows. One of the main advantages of alfalfa is that it contains 2,400kgs of protein per hectare which is much higher than soya at 1,000kgs to 1,500kgs of protein per hec- tare. Alfalfa gains its high content of nutrients and vitamins due to its deep root system that can extend to over 20 feet
deep taking in nutrients unreachable by normal root systems. Managing the crop uses very few herbicides and in France it is all non-GMO. Around 7% of the total production is farmed or- ganically and this figure is growing rapidly. Alfalfa is normally dried after harvesting to produce high quality bales or pellets for livestock. This year demand for bales across Europe was high due to the prolonged periods of drought. When the alfal- fa is harvested the moisture content is around 65% so it is then sent to the dehydration plants to be dried in a rotary dry- ing drum. Hot air currents at 150°C to 650°C generated by coal furnaces dry the crop to around 10% humidity before it is crushed to be made into pellets or sent uncrushed for baling.
First French dehydration cooperative One of the processing plants that dries alfalfa is based in St Remy on Bussy east of Paris and is owned by the Luzeal Co-op group. Luzeal was the first French dehydration cooperative to be formed and harvests 35% of the national production of dried alfalfa. The co-op has five production sites in the north of the Marne and the southern Ardennes, and processes more than 21,000 ha of alfalfa produced by its 1,850 members. A total of 400,000 tonnes of dried product is produced by
22 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 27, No. 9, 2019
PHOTOS: CHRIS MCCULLOUGH
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