
Herbs for great stockfeed
Some of the best-performing pastures on lifestyle blocks include deep-rooted herbs that boost both animal health and liveweight gains. Two of the most useful are chicory and plantain, both of which can be easily integrated into rotational grazing systems.
Chicory in Pastures
Chicory is a herbaceous plant with a strong taproot and a rosette of broad, succulent leaves. It grows rapidly once spring soil temperatures rise, producing high volumes of palatable feed through spring, summer, and autumn. Chicory is summer-active and typically dormant in winter.
New Zealand has bred leafy chicory cultivars specifically for livestock, unlike the culinary varieties like endive or whitloof. These pasture types thrive on fertile, free-draining soils and are best managed under a rotational grazing system or cut for silage.
Chicory is highly digestible and supports excellent animal performance in cattle, lambs, and deer. It allows for rapid weight gain and contributes to overall animal health by moving quickly through the rumen.
Tips for Managing Chicory
Avoid overgrazing, especially in mixed pastures or with deer.
Don’t allow it to bolt and grow tall – grazing keeps the plant in a leafy stage.
Topping stemmy stands can lead to crown disease if water collects in hollow stems.
Chicory stands typically persist for 2 to 5 years.
To learn more about incorporating herbs into your grazing system download our Managing Pasture ebook. It covers everything from species selection to seasonal grazing strategies.
Plantain in Pastures
Plantain, once seen as a common weed, has been bred into an upright, leafy grazing herb. It establishes quickly and is both drought and pest tolerant, making it ideal for dryland or warmer regions.
Plantain is highly palatable and rapidly digested, with the added benefit of boosting the uptake of copper and selenium in livestock. Like chicory, it’s summer-active and adds valuable variety to the pasture mix.
Tips for Managing Plantain
Minimise seedhead growth to maintain feed value.
Include it as part of a mixed sward – content usually doesn’t exceed 20 percent.
Particularly valuable in warmer areas where summer feed is scarce.
Adding herbs like chicory and plantain can improve both pasture quality and animal performance on your block. These persistent, productive plants deserve a place in any well-managed grazing system.