Ideal Legume % ?

[wbvs58]

I can't see how you can have a %age, most legumes have a high hard seed content and when you have a year that really suits the clover or other legume then there is no stopping it and it will be 80-90 % until it burns off in summer heat, other years it may only be 10-20 %. I just keep adding legumes, mostly clover whenever I put out my P fertiliser.

Ken

 

[wbvs58]

I didn't realise I gave my opinion twice, hope both versions correspond. I have an excuse now I officially have my Seniors card.

Ken

 

[True Grit Farms]

I didn't realise I gave my opinion twice, hope both versions correspond. I have an excuse now I officially have my Seniors card.

Ken

Some things are worth repeating Ken, clover is a good in moderation.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I just keep adding legumes, mostly clover whenever I put out my P fertilizer. Ken

I see some fields with strips of clover - - where it apparently did not spread as far as the operator thought. How well does broadcasting it with fertilizer work for you? Does fertilizer reduce the clover germ?

 

[wbvs58]

I just keep adding legumes, mostly clover whenever I put out my P fertilizer. Ken

I see some fields with strips of clover - - where it apparently did not spread as far as the operator thought. How well does broadcasting it with fertilizer work for you? Does fertilizer reduce the clover germ?

It is always very hard to say, I always use the coated seed but as I said in my first post when I have used a new variety easily identified and a good season I have been very happy with the amount I have identified in the pasture in spring. I usually do my P fertiliser in autumn. I think the coated seed being a bit larger and heavier goes a bit further but probably not as far as the fert granules.

Ken

 

[HDRider]

What months can you graze clover? I know you Aussies are upside down, so maybe I should ask how far into the summer does your clover last and how far into the winter?

BTW- Why don't we have some South Americans on CT here?

 

[Stocker Steve]

Why don't we have some South Americans on CT here?

Real cowboys there, so it is hard to use a lap top seated on a horse.

 

[shaz]

Durana Clover all the way. My pastures are 80% clover. It might be a bit more, but the Vaughns Bermuda is catching hold now. In the spring it is solid clover, but as it get hot, the grasses mix in. Just be sure to keep out a mineral with Rumensin in it, as it keeps down the frothy bloat by 80%. It also helps the cattle to digest what they eat better too. Co-op sells this mineral.
Durana reseeds itself and spreads by long runners.

Cows graze the Bermuda ok or do you have to fence them in on it?

 

[Chuckie]

I'm a bit late getting back. Cattle eat Bermuda real well here. It is in patches, and they keep it grazed down even when the clover is growing.

 

[TexasBred]

What months can you graze clover? I know you Aussies are upside down, so maybe I should ask how far into the summer does your clover last and how far into the winter?

BTW- Why don't we have some South Americans on CT here?

HD, Whitewing lived in Venezuela but hasn't been on here in quite a while. Use to show up on Ranchers.net as well but not there either. Hopefully the socialist regime down there didn't catch him.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Good news - - the rain we had a winter thaw killed almost all the legumes! So now I can inter seed with reduced competition. ;-)

OG is not my favorite but it does has a lot of seedling vigor. Do you see any grazing advantage to other grasses vs. OG on northern uplands?

 

[Nesikep]

I have started reducing my grass content in my mixes... OG is plentiful around here anyhow, and legumes (alfalfa mostly) dies out over time.. Also, since I don't apply nitrogen fertilizer, more legumes are good. On one field years ago I had put more than the usual amount of timothy.. worked great for a year or two until is took all the N out of the ground and left none for the alfalfa.. reseeding it this year and I'll put mostly alfalfa/clover in it and try and build it back up.. it'll get a pile of cow manure too.