Introduction

The story of how farmers discovered and then stuck to their own way of using medic and sub-clover in spite of strong advice to change reveals fundamental differences in the approach taken by technical experts and farmers when tackling farming problems. Both groups began with a common goal. They wanted to find a source of feed for sheep other than the native pasture and bushes that could not stand the pressure of commercial flocks and they wanted to stop the erosion and reverse the cycle of diminishing soil fertility that threatened to destroy the state's wheat industry. The State Government endowed the scientific and technical community with funds and land to enable them to concentrate on these problems. Farmers got together at meetings and after work to share their experience.

Sub-clover pasture for livestock production

In 1887 a farmer and nurseryman, Amos Howard, noticed a strong growth of annual sub-clover (T. subterraneum) in his paddocks in the high rainfall (600 mm) Mount Lofty Ranges east of Adelaide, and he began to graze his sheep on it. His sheep did well, and the pasture regenerated each spring without further seeding.