LUCERNE is no stranger to the hills at Merino Downs, at Henty, near Casterton in Victoria's Western District.
It doesn't quite date back to 1837 when the farm was first settled by the pioneering Henty family, but it is something that has graced the picturesque hills for almost 80 years.
"We've always had lucerne. It dates back to the 1930s, not hundreds of acres but sometimes as little as 10-15 acres (4-6ha) at a time," said current owner Francis Henty-Anderson, who runs the property with wife Sally.
Four years ago Francis, who is named after his great great grandfather and the property's original white settler, Francis Henty, put in some new stands of lucerne.
It coincided with the start of a pasture renovation program on paddocks which, in some cases, still had some native pastures.
And it has proven a very good move with the lucerne providing valuable pasture for spring hay production and for grazing, especially over what can be long, dry summers and autumns.
The lucerne tradition goes back to the 1920s and 1930s when Francis' grandfather PC Anderson managed an adjacent property, Wurt Wurt Koort, from 1921 to 1939 and Merino Downs itself in the 1930s.
These properties were run by sharefarmers who each had about 90ha for raising pigs and dairy cows.
Every sharefarmer had a crop of barley for the pigs and stand of lucerne for the cows.
Francis' father, Graham Henty-Anderson, continued the lucerne tradition when be returned to Merino Downs after World War II.
Then, four years ago, Francis and Sally upgraded and expanded their lucerne area, mainly for hay production.
"Now we are looking at a combination of hay and grazing," Francis said.
This year is shaping up as a similar season to 2006. The tops of the Casterton region's green hills are starting to brown after yet another dry spring.
But the lucerne paddocks are green and lush and will be cut for hay in coming weeks before providing summer feed for lambs.
Francis said it was important to take care when producing lucerne hay.
"You have to be careful baling. If it is too dry, all you get is a bale of dust and sticks," he said.
He generally bales in the cool of the morning, stopping when the temperature gets too hot.
"We've found it is essential to have your own baler or a contractor you've got direct control over," he said.
Francis said lambs were usually finished on lucerne and replacement ewe lambs fed lucerne hay over summer.
These days he wonders how he ever maintained and fattened lambs over summer without his larger lucerne paddocks and the hay they produce.
Merino Downs, which has visible signs of the original 1840s road from Casterton to Portland on it, is also home to Romney-cross sheep and Poll Hereford cattle.
Legend has it the road was later moved so the family, who lived nearby, didn't have to hear the language bullock drivers used to encourage their stock along the track.
The farm, which also has an original brick stable, now covers 485ha with 14ha sown to lucerne and another 10.5ha to go in next year.
The pastures are predominantly phalaris and clover, with some ryegrass.
The renovation program generally involves the selection of a poorer paddock for summer cropping before being sown to winter cereals for one or two seasons.
After that, the paddock is sown to either pasture or summer active lucerne
Last month, Merino Downs hosted an EverGraze field day to show other farmers the benefits of lucerne.
EverGraze aims to extend the pasture-growing season, especially with the use of summer-active pastures in the mix.
Francis and Sally know the benefit of their summer-active legume and have no plans of ending the farm's 80-year lucerne tradition.
"Lucerne gives us a lot more versatility through summer, if it is short and you take stock out and get another inch of rain, it will re-freshen," Francis said.
