Forage Herbs: Chicory & Plantain

Add forage herbs. Chicory, with its deep taproot, and plantain, with its strong root system, keep growing into summer and autumn when ryegrass has finished, producing highly digestible, mineral-rich feed. We usually include a few kilograms per hectare of each in a ryegrass and clover mix. They need higher rainfall, some summer moisture or irrigation to earn their keep.

Chicory has a very deep taproot that drives strong summer growth where there's enough rain or irrigation, and our Six Point chicory also handles dry periods well. Plantain has broad, ribbed leaves growing from a central crown, tolerates frequent grazing and grows more through winter and spring, but it doesn't tolerate waterlogged soils. Sown together, they spread high-quality feed across more of the year.

A herb and legume pasture of chicory, plantain and clover is one of the best ways to lift lamb growth rates from paddock feed. The herbs stay leafy and highly digestible into summer, when grasses run to seed, so lambs eat more and grow faster. Graze rotationally to keep quality high. It suits higher-rainfall areas with some summer rain, or irrigation.

Graze chicory rotationally, keeping plants between about 5 cm and 40 cm tall. Grazing below 5 cm damages the crown, so avoid set stocking and hard grazing, especially in late autumn and winter. In summer, a rest of around three to four weeks between grazings usually works. Keep stock off wet soil, and graze down flowering stems to keep it leafy.

Forage herbs are a good choice: chicory and plantain don't cause bloat, and they carry none of the endophyte toxins behind ryegrass staggers. The main caution is for dairy herds, as chicory and plantain can both taint milk when they make up a large share of the diet for long periods. As with any lush feed, introduce stock gradually.

That's fairly typical: chicory usually lasts two to three years, and up to five in higher-rainfall areas with careful grazing. Stands thin faster under set stocking, grazing below 5 cm and hard winter grazing. Six Point chicory can regenerate if it's allowed to go to seed, and oversowing herbs into the pasture as they fade keeps the benefit going.

Carefully, because chicory and plantain are broadleaf plants too, and many common broadleaf herbicides, including phenoxy products such as 2,4-D and MCPA, will damage or kill them. The best control happens before sowing, with a clean, weed-free seedbed. In an established stand, check the label for herb safety before spraying, and use grazing or mowing where you can.

Sow them shallow, no deeper than 1 cm, into a firm, weed-free seedbed in autumn or early spring. On their own, chicory goes in at about 4–8 kg/ha and plantain at 6–10 kg/ha; in a mix with ryegrass and clover, 2–5 kg/ha of chicory and 3–4 kg/ha of plantain is typical. Roll after sowing for good seed-soil contact, and let them establish before the first grazing.

They're at their best in higher-rainfall country, from about 550 mm for our Six Point chicory and 600 mm for Tonic plantain, or under irrigation, which in WA means the South West, coastal districts and irrigated blocks. Of our two herbs, the chicory is the more drought tolerant. In the low-rainfall wheatbelt, lucerne is usually a better choice for out-of-season feed, and herbs work best as a small part of a mix.

Usually around two to three months after sowing, once the plants are well anchored and chicory is 15–20 cm tall. Use the pluck test, graze lightly and quickly the first time, and don't take plants below about 10 cm. Letting a new stand build its root system in the first season pays off in persistence later.