Clover is a crucial part of James Robinson’s organic dairy farm, located near Kendal in the north of England.

“We wouldn’t be able to farm without it. It’s a miracle plant,” he said.

There are 87 pedigree Shorthorn dairy cows going through the parlour at present, although numbers have reduced due to a recent bovine TB breakout.

The dairy herd typically has around 120 cows and numbers should be back up to that level by the spring, with plenty of in-calf heifers coming forward.

When the Irish Farmers Journal visited the farm in early October, cows were still at grass by day and had just recently been housed by night. In most years, cows graze by day on the farm until early November.

The milking herd was grazing silage ground, which is located furthest from the farmyard at the end of an internal laneway.

Three cuts of silage had been taken off this ground during 2024 and the cows were in grazing three weeks of regrowth.

Nitrogen fixation

Being a legume, clover fixes nitrogen from the air into the soil, which can be used by grass plants to grow. It is that process, known as nitrogen fixation, which is miraculous for James.

As certified organic, no artificial fertiliser or sprays are used on the Robinson farm. Asides from slurry and farmyard manure, all nitrogen for growing grass comes from the nitrogen fixation process.

The sward the cows were in when we visited had a high white clover content. It was impressive, given that James said the field hasn’t been reseeded in 15 years.

By not using artificial nitrogen, clover faces less competition from grass and other plants in the sward, which allows it to establish and gives it persistency.

For example, docks respond well to artificial nitrogen, and it makes them become less palatable for livestock.

“The docks that grow here are fairly small and weedy. The cows nip them off as they graze,” James said.

On the Robinson farm, there were some small docks in the ungrazed part of the field beyond the electric fence, and the area that had already been grazed was clean with a low residual cover.

Slow in spring

A big downside to clover is that it is slow to get growing in the spring, as it requires warmer soil temperatures. How does James manage at that time of the year?

“There will be residual nitrogen built up in the soil that is left over from the previous year. We don’t have any sheep on for winter grazing, so that helps with grass in the spring too,” James said. He said it tends to be late spring when grass supplies can be tight on the farm. At that stage, the spring growth has been grazed off, nitrogen from the previous year is used up, and clover hasn’t started growing yet.

The farm has been growing herbal leys to help bridge this gap in feed availability, as a wider range of species in the sward should mean different plants grow at the different times.

James Robinson’s family has been farming at Strickley, near Kendal, since 1875 and the first pedigree Shorthorn cow was registered on the farm in 1915.

The switch to organic has been much more recent, with the farm being certified organic for the past 18 years.

James said there were various reasons behind the conversion to organic, including a higher milk price and lower input costs. The farm was already using less fertiliser than most conventional dairy farms, although with up to 40t spread each year, cutting out fertiliser altogether was still a significant step.

He said the 300-acre farm was well suited to organic dairying, as there was a decent land base which can still support a reasonably-sized dairy herd, even at a lower stocking rate.

Also, the farm has dry soils but still gets plenty of rainfall, so it is well suited for growing and utilising grazed grass and clover.

James said his organic milk price at present is 55p/l and a price premium over conventional milk of around 10p/l is generally what is needed to cover the lower output.

His herd of pedigree Shorthorns has an average yield of 7,000l, at 4.1% butterfat and 3.4% protein, from 1.6t of concentrates.

Having pedigree genetics means sales of breeding stocking, including both bulls and heifers, is another income stream for the farm.

James is keen to get as much grazed grass in the diet as possible because crude protein levels are higher in grass than silage.

“It is expensive for us to get crude protein from an organic ration, because we use a soya free feed,” he said.

Wholecrop silage is usually made on the farm from a mix of barley and peas, with the latter being a good source of crude protein. No sprays can be used for weed control, so the crop is established by conventional cultivation using a plough.

“Grass is under sown for a reseed. It means if the wholecrop is harvested at the end of July, you still get the chance for few grazings that year,” James said.

James Robinson is chair of the English steering group for the Nature Friendly Farming Network.

He is involved in campaigning for more support for agri environment schemes, as well as delivering knowledge exchange between farmers.

Policy-makers in London appear to be listening.

The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is being phased out in England and is being replaced with schemes that are mainly focused on environmental measures.

James said the new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) “is along the right lines”, although he acknowledges that it still “needs tweaks”. A key criticism of the new English scheme is that not enough measures are available for upland farms, which means farmers in these areas have no opportunity to recoup lost BPS income.

However, James said ELMS is working much better for both arable farms and livestock farms in lowland areas.

He argues that the requirement to deliver environmental measures is important for securing financial support for farming in the longer term.

“If we want public money, then we need to do what the public wants,” he said.

There is very little hedge flailing carried out on James Robinson’s farm, even though there are over 11km of hedgerows across the 300-acre holding. Instead, hedge laying is carried out on a 20–25-year rotation, with around 400-500m laid by James and his family each winter.

Hedge-laying involves partially cutting the stem of each plant with a small bill hook and then bending it over to encourage re-growth to eventually come through the hedgerow.

The process is labour-intensive, but James said the work is done in small bouts on dry days throughout the winter period. From an environmental perspective, it is a favourable hedgerow management technique, because berries remain available for birds and wildlife.

James said a new fence is put up after the hedge is laid and space is left between the fence and hedge, as this strip of ungrazed grass is an important habitat for wildlife.