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General Information on Hairy Vetch
Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) is a legume crop that primarily has been used for soil improvement along roadsides. Hairy vetch is considered a winter annual in most states. However, grown in North Dakota, hairy vetch normally does not survive the winter, thus it's considered an annual legume. Producers have had success in getting hairy vetch to survive the winter seeded in the fall with winter rye, however this is not a recommended practice in North Dakota.
Hairy vetch grows well on most soil types, but is most adapted to loamy or sandy soils. The plant is considered fine stemmed and leafy. Hairy vetch is a shallow rooted legume that is not considered drought tolerant, however is not considered drought sensitive either.
Forage quality is similar to alfalfa; 18-20% crude protein with
56-58% TDN. In contrast to sweet clover, hairy vetch is an annual legume with lower soil water depletion potential and is not associated with dicoumarin poisoning. It also can be grazed without having the bloat potential as alfalfa does in cattle. Hairy vetch can also be used as a green manure crop capable of enriching the soil with 60-120 pounds/acre of nitrogen through the biological nitrogen fixation process.
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