In Minnesota trials, a complete replacement of soybean meal with lupine meal for dairy cows resulted in a reduced feed intake and a slight reduction in milk production. Calves fed ground lupine as the only supplemental protein source in starter diets showed no decrease in production compared to a soybean meal diet. This translated directly into a reduction in gain. Even at this level, feed intake of lupine diets can be severely reduced due to a problem with palatability. Better feeding has resulted from using the yellow and blues lupine species.
Larger quantities result in reduced feed intake and gain, probably because of fiber content.
Methionine should be added as a supplement. Sweet lupines have been shown to increase the protein and fiber crops in conjunction with durum wheat in specialty pastures, and to be an excellent source of white-colored fiber, as an additive to breads and cereals. The growth habit of lupine is different from other grain legumes. Maximum vegetative growth rate occurs during flowering. The main stem and each branch usually terminate in an inflorescence, which is a simple raceme with varying numbers of flowers.