sericea lespedeza as forage

I want to learn all about it! the forage and hay of lespedeza has anthelmintic qualities particularly in goats, that much I know.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=192984

but what other  (if any) uses/benefits does it have? other then simple forage material how could it be incorporated into plans to maximize its positive impact?

awesome, keep up the good work!
is this cold hardy in the north?
is it possible to buy forage varieties or seed anywhere?

Definitely does seem to bring egg-count right down.... even in just a 4 week period.

Also in sheep.

Here is a write-up on how it is best thought to be used....

The warm-season perennial legume, sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata), has been shown to have an anthelmintic effect against Haemonchus spp. when goats are grazed on sericea lespedeza pastures (Min et al., 2004) or fed sericea lespedeza hay (Shaik et al., 2006). The plant has soil-binding and soil-enriching properties and is particularly suited for cultivation on poor quality soils. Sericea lespedeza has been cultivated with much success on a commercial farm in southern KwaZulu-Natal and the legume would appear to be suitable for cultivation in the communal grazing areas too. Here the farmers plant maize and other vegetable crops in small fenced-off areas and the sericea lespedeza, which cannot tolerate heavy grazing, could potentially be grown in such sites where it could be strategically grazed or otherwise utilized, e.g. to produce hay. It would seem to be an ideal species to consider especially in areas that have been degraded and eroded, which are commonplace in the communal grazing areas.

Shaik S A, Terrill T H, Miller J E, Kouakou B, Kannan G, Kaplan R M, Burke J M, Mosjidis J A 2006 Sericea lespedeza hay as a natural deworming agent against gastrointestinal nematode infection in goats. Veterinary Parasitology 139: 150-157

A full paper here....

.....alternatives to lucerne are sought, of which Sericea lespedeza (lespedeza) has shown potential (Terrill et al., 1989). Lespedeza [Lespedeza cuneata (Dun-Cours) G. Don] is a tall growing, drought tolerant, coarse-stemmed, non-bloating, deep tap-rooted, self-seeding, perennial legume, adapted to a wide range of soils (Powell et al., 2003). It is widely planted in southern USA for grazing, hay and as a soil restoration and conservation crop (Powell et al., 2003). Although common lespedeza are known to have a high tannin content which may limit the nutritive value (Turner et al., 2005), ruminants such as goats have been reported to tolerate and perform well when consuming high tannin-containing plants (Silanikove et al., 1996). Other advantageous features of lespedeza include being long term forage once established (Barkley, 1986), provision of good quality grazing (Schmidt, 1982) and coping well under waterlogged conditions (Guernsey, 1970). In addition, South African farmers have described lespedeza as a low cost pasture, which provides good quality early spring and autumn grazing, makes good quality and ‘cheap’ hay, hay cures quickly, less wear-and-tear on mowing equipment, increases summer carrying capacity, seldom needs lime and/or phosphorus corrections at planting and does not require the use of pesticides. However, the farmers pointed out disadvantages of lespedeza as slow establishment and inability to be used as foggage (“standing hay”) because it is frost sensitive .....

A good article here on the plant. Seems to do better in more acidic soils but can then become a weed.

Found suggestions that could be used for rabbits too... but still looking. If find will post.... this is getting too long.

Chelle

Few that raise hay .. know what they are doing any more. Swathing in the afternoon and not in the morning. Turning the hay if it gets wet or if it was cut onto wet soil. Baling before it has cured .. you should be able to reach underneath the windrow and take a sample and twist it three times before it breaks .. if it will not break or breaks a little on the fourth, fifth or sixth twist .. bale it at your own risk. Rake your hay at night when humidity is high .. bale at night .. which most people don't want to do. If you are baling and all the leaves are flying and it is dusty .. something is wrong .. stop. Many leave their take up reel too low and throw dirt and rocks into the baled hay .. use a knife and open a bale and take an inside flake and bang it on news paper or the bed of your truck. Mold, wetness, smell if foul, dirt .. walk or damage your livestock.

Go to Silver Lining Herbs and look at their natural wormer. Hay is hay .. buy the cheapest best hay you can find. Fiber keeps animals warm in the winter .. grass alfalfa is what I raise and people fight over mine to get it. Horses and goats do not need high protein necessarily. Talk to the old time goat ranchers in your area.

DustyTrails wrote:
Few that raise hay .. know what they are doing any more. Swathing in the afternoon and not in the morning. Turning the hay if it gets wet or if it was cut onto wet soil. Baling before it has cured .. you should be able to reach underneath the windrow and take a sample and twist it three times before it breaks .. if it will not break or breaks a little on the fourth, fifth or sixth twist .. bale it at your own risk. Rake your hay at night when humidity is high .. bale at night .. which most people don't want to do. If you are baling and all the leaves are flying and it is dusty .. something is wrong .. stop. Many leave their take up reel too low and throw dirt and rocks into the baled hay .. use a knife and open a bale and take an inside flake and bang it on news paper or the bed of your truck. Mold, wetness, smell if foul, dirt .. walk or damage your livestock.

Go to Silver Lining Herbs and look at their natural wormer. Hay is hay .. buy the cheapest best hay you can find. Fiber keeps animals warm in the winter .. grass alfalfa is what I raise and people fight over mine to get it. Horses and goats do not need high protein necessarily. Talk to the old time goat ranchers in your area.

People say hay cut in the evening will have a higher sugar content.

After some research I find that sericea lespedeza is one of the plants growing well (and thick) at the field trial grounds.  So many kinds of lespedeza, we seeded some low growing fine stemmed type (Kobe I think) here in my pastures.  I am waiting for my Bicolor or shrub lespedeza to get here... the horses eat it and it is a pretty shrub.

I just discovered my state (Virginia) forestry department sells bicolor lespedeza seedlings starting at $20 for 10, cheaper in larger quantities. 

Around here, it self-seeds and maintains itself in any pasture that the sheep don't have continuous access to.  Its one of the first plants that they go for in new pasture.

A pest week in our pasture/hay patch.  It grows faster than the grass and gets rank and stemmy.

We're trying to get rid of it.

It is a beautiful fragrant plant.  It puts off a black licorice smell when I drive over it.  My fields are overrun with it.  Unfortunately it is illegal in Kansas (noxious weed) and I've been fined multiple times for it.  To say it is invasive is beyond an understatement.  I burned several sections of my property with large cedar piles which killed everything, seeds etc.  Within two years it had taken over again.  In controlled burns, it comes back quicker and stronger than anything else.  

I am planning on attacking it with goats and sheep once I get a reliable water supply and some coyote discouraging animals.  I am researching to see if llamas or donkeys can eat it without getting sick.  From what I've read, cattle and horses cant eat it for an extended period.