I hadn’t been near my red clover sward for a couple of months until last week. The last time I looked at it, there was very little clover on show.

I was afraid I’d left the lambs grazing on it too long during the winter, which could possibly damage the red clover. But when I looked at it last week, I was pleasantly surprised. There was a nice strong cover of grass, with plenty of clover.

Sadly, neither me or the picture this app could tell whether it was red or white clover, But I’m hoping it’s a mixture of both. The purest clover people would probably strongly disagree, but I’m going to put a little chemical nitrogen on.

Hungry

Just to kick start things, probably in the form of some 10-10-20, this sward will be hungry for P and K so the 10-10-20 will cover all needs. If things go according to plan, then I’ll aim to get the first cut off it in mid-May.

As I’ve said before, the whole thing is just a bit of an experiment at the min. The field wasn’t sowed until 19 May last year, which meant I was only able to get two light cuts off silage off it. However, quality and cattle performance over the winter was very good.

"This is the year that will tell the tale as to whether or not red clover is for me."

So, this is the year that will tell the tale as to whether or not red clover is for me. I’ll be aiming for four cuts this year, with Inishowen weather I may be aiming a little high, but I’m sure I’ll get three cuts easy enough. I’ll then need to weigh up the quantity and quality of silage, along with the amount of chemical nitrogen I’m saving, versus the cost of the smaller number of bales per acre and the extra mowing and raking costs.

As the Department of Agriculture has this year again announced a Multi-Species Sward and Red Clover Silage Measure scheme and the payment rate has been increased to a potential €300/ha, this will reduce if applications exceed the available combined budget for both measures.

I most definitely would not be against sowing some more red clover this year. For anyone interested in applying for either of these schemes, the application portal will close on 29 May and to be eligible under these measures the swards must be sown by the 15 July and established by the 30 September.