ABSTRACT
Forage legumes have well-documented benefits: nitrogen fixation ability, which contributes to the N economy of grasslands, and superior nutritive value and voluntary feed intake characteristics, which contribute to improved animal performance from legume-rich forage compared with grass-dominated forage. In some parts of the world, these benefits are strongly exploited in economically viable systems of animal production, such as through the widespread use of alfalfa and red clover in North America, white clover in New Zealand or subterranean clover in southern Australia. Currently, considerable research effort focuses on exploiting further the benefits of these major legumes through plant breeding, cultivar assessment and, eventually, their utilization in different farming systems.
