Clover and Reproduction System

[Stocker Steve]

So red clover can go to over 90% of the sward, but yes, a disease caused die off often follows.

AFAIK, Red clover is a biannual, so it dies off after the 2nd year, not necessarily related to being diseased.. It also grows best in the 2nd year, which would explain why you can have a ton of it, then pretty much nothing

You need to graze it down in the fall to reduce winter molds. You need high K levels for longevity. They also now have "3 year" RC which are less disease prone. You can also let it go to seed so it regenerates on its own. I have heavy RC stands that have lasted longer than good alfalfa stands, but they require more management.

 

[Stocker Steve]

We started with mined out soil, and had to regenerate. Went a little heavy on the bale grazing the past 8 years on the new home place. Last 3 chemical soil tests averaged 46 ppm of P and 224 ppm of K. OM went from an average of 1.6% to 3.1%.

With cows and rain you will get compaction. Forage cover crops are a good way to break it up. Some alfalfa and chicory in the pasture mix will also help. They root much deeper than RC.

 

[Lucky_P]

I gotta question 76Bar's claim about white clover being implicated as a major cause of abortion in mares.
Let's see some documentation...'cause I've been involved in veterinary medicine for over 40 years, and have never seen that...in person, or in the literature.