International Conference

Forage legumes in temperate pasture-based systems

Background and Scope

The cost of fertilizer N relative to farm-gate prices received for milk, beef and lamb has increased substantially in recent years. This is putting pressure on the profitability of pasture-based systems, causing a re-evaluation of the use of synthetic fertilizer N on farms and the search for lower cost alternatives.

Forage legumes offer the potential to lower fertilizer N costs on farms and may be a more sustainable option for pasture-based production, not only economically but also in terms of impact on water quality and climate change.

Conference Objectives

This conference sets out to bring together scientists with an interest in this topic to weigh up the beneficial and negative consequences of using forage legumes to meet the N requirements of sustainable pasture-based production, future challenges for research and possibilities for collaboration.

Intended Audience:

• Research scientists
• Advisors and Consultants
• Farmers
• Policy makers (Agriculture and Environment)

List of Delegates

Presentations

• Characterisation of Different White Clover (Trifolium repens L.) Cultivar Evaluation Systems in Ireland and their Relevance to Grassland Farming - T. J. Gilliland, D. McGilloway, P. Conaghan
• Comparative growth and management of white and red clovers - A.D. Black, A.S. Laidlaw, D.J. Moot, P. O’Kiely
• Environmental impacts of grazed clovergrass pastures – S. Ledgard, R. Schils, J. Eriksen and J. Luo
• Multi-species swards new perspectives on models and mechanisms – J. Connolly, T. Bell, A. Black, C. Brophy, T. Carnus, J. Finn, L. Kirwan, A. Lüscher, A. Weigelt
• Nutritive value of forage legumes used for grazing and silage – R.J. Dewhurst, L. Delaby, A. Moloney, T. Boland and E. Lewis
• Potential food production from forage legumes based systems in Europe - J.L.Peyraud, A. Le Gall and A. Lüscher
• Productivity and competitiveness of white clover-based pastoral dairy systems - J. Humphreys, I.A. Casey and A.S. Laidlaw