BGS and SilAC Event to Reveal Red Clover Silage Benefits

Author: 
The Silage Advisory Centre

Management strategies to improve productivity and reduce costs have never been more important than today, especially in the livestock sector where price fluctuation is pushing farmers to improve profitability by addressing and reducing their input costs. Recent research shows that Red Clover as a silage crop offers significant advantages in terms of input reduction and increased nutritional values.

To further promote the potential of such valuable forage, the British Grassland Society (BGS) and the Silage Advisory Centre (SilAC) are joining forces to offer farmers a dedicated one-day seminar and on-farm demonstration.

The BGS Profiting from Red Clover special interest day, sponsored by SilAC will take place on September 14th at the Longnor Village Hall and at John and Tim Downes’ farm in Shropshire. The event will introduce best practices for farmers looking to establish Red Clover as an alternative forage crop.

“There are several benefits attached to the practice of incorporating alternative forage crops as part of the ‘on-farm grown’ forage options,” observes Dave Davies, SilAC consultant and a speaker at the event.

“These offer nutritional benefits over silage made from grass because they are high protein crops, thus reducing the requirement for expensive bought in protein supplements. Red Clover also can ‘fix’ its own nitrogen, saving in fertiliser costs, so altogether, this forage offers a significant cost saving over grass based silage,” says Dr. Davies.

Red clover has seen resurgence over the last few years.  Once the preserve of organic farmers, it is now a viable alternative on conventional farms. John Downes, BGS President and host farmer on the day, is keen on Red Clover for its nutritional benefits and for the beneficial effect on soil structure and has been growing for 12 years.

“The plant itself has a deep tap root, which really benefits soil structure,” says Downes. “It is also drawing nutrients from lower down in the soil than grass and white clover. This year it has shown its ability to yield well in dry conditions on our dry soils. Leys remain productive on the farm for three years, and may stay down for a further year if the red clover content remains strong.”

“For the dairy herd, it’s mixed with other silage in the clamp increasing the protein of the ration, saving on purchased concentrate costs and its certainly increasing cows yield from forage in winter, compared with grass silage alone. 

“And, our Aberdeen Angus beef cattle can be finished without concentrate on red clover silage.”

The BGSProfiting from Red Clover day will be an event filled with informative, interactive and practical sessions on how to best incorporate Red Clover into current farming practices. Leading industry experts will discuss some of the key techniques to establishing and breeding Red Clover as a forage crop and an afternoon of practical demonstrations will show farmers, hands-on, how to use these recommendations.

For a full programe and to sign up for the event, please visit www.britishgrassland.com or contact Jessica Buss at jessica@britishgrassland.com for more information.

In the meantime, more expert advice on Red Clover can be found in SilAC’s Red Clover Factsheet series - Red Clover as a Silage Crop, Ensiling Red Clover and Feeding Red Clover - on the website www.silageadvice.com.