War in Europe, record high fertiliser and energy costs, plus a shortage of supply of key inputs, mean that 2022 is proving to be a challenging year for farming.

The high prices for milk, meat and grain pale into insignificance when you see the plight of the Ukrainian people.

Producing lots of safe, nutritious and healthy food in a sustainable way will be an important response by Ireland alongside the humanitarian effort.

Balancing these food production needs in terms of quantity and sustainability is going to be a challenge.

With chemical nitrogen so expensive and so scarce, the temptation for farmers is to cut back production.

According to industry sources, there is enough clover seed to satisfy demand in a normal year – but not any extra demand

However, the markets are sending a strong signal that they want more produce. Not only that, but people need more produce in order to avoid food shortages in less well-off parts of the world.

The need for clover-based swards that fix atmospheric nitrogen to soil has never been greater.

According to industry sources, there is enough clover seed to satisfy demand in a normal year – but not any extra demand. The same applies to grass seed supplies. In reality, any field over-sown with clover is unlikely to contribute in any substantial way to nitrogen fixation this year. However, it should make a big contribution next year and, at this stage, it is unlikely that fertiliser supply and prices will be back to normal next year – so a shortage of seed is a problem for the industry.

Contractor Jim Jordan preparing 20ac for grass seeds for Johnny Nolan at Oylgate,Co Wexford.

Whether or not any reseeding should be done in 2022 is discussed here. It’s a question for individual farmers to answer but if swards are already good-quality, then this year could be a year to skip reseeding. But if swards are old and under-performing, then reseeding with a grass and clover mix will increase productivity. We also take a look at red clover and see what potential it has to reduce chemical nitrogen use on silage ground.