Technical note: utilization of sainfoin by grazing steers and a method for predicting daily gain from small-plot grazing data.

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop.) is adapted to the calcareous soils of the southern Great Plains and can provide early season forage that does not induce bloating; however, little is known about performance by ruminants grazing sainfoin. Our objective was to determine the effect of plant growth stage and grazing pressures on potential animal production from sainfoin as predicted from energy intake as a multiple of maintenance. Nitrogen-fertilized (100 kg of N/ha) Renumex sainfoin was grown under irrigation on a Pullman clay loam (fine, mixed, thermic Torretic Paleustoll) near Lubbock, TX. Light (L), medium (M), and heavy (H) grazing pressures were applied with steers grazing sainfoin that was at the bud (B), flower (F), and seed shatter (S) stages of growth. The L, M, and H pressures were grazed to remove 50, 75, and 90% of the standing plant height. Across growth stages, L, M, and H grazing pressures averaged 52, 69, and 87% removal of pregrazed herbage mass. Dry matter intake as a percentage of BW of steers averaged 3.9, 2.8, and 1.7 for L, M, and H grazing pressures. Across growth stages, predicted live weight gain for L, M, and H grazing pressures averaged .86, .67, and .03 kg/d. Our findings indicate that the multiple of maintenance method may be useful for evaluating treatments from small-plot grazing experiments.