Red clover silage swards to be discussed at Augher farm walk

AN Augher dairy farmer will be discussing his experience of establishing red clover swards at an AgriSearch farm walk which will take place on his farm on Wednesday, June 5.

David Clarke farms 80 spring calving dairy cows alongside a broiler-breeder poultry unit near Augher in partnership with his father.

Mr Clarke established red clover silage swards last year as part of AgriSearch’s ZeroNsile project.

Also at the walk will be Dr David Patterson, Grassland Agronomist from AFBI, and Robert Patterson, Grassland Technologist at CAFRE.

They will outline the key steps needed to successfully establish red clover swards, including soil fertility, nutrient management, seed selection and reseeding methods.

Best use

Conail Keown of CAFRE will discuss how to make best use of red clover within dairy cow diets, as well as the benefits that red clover can bring in terms of lowering fertiliser use, having higher protein forage and the potential to lower your carbon footprint.

The ZeroNsile project was established in 2023 to examine the feasibility and practicalities of producing silage without the use of manufactured N fertiliser, focusing primarily on red clover swards.

Twelve farmers from the Beacon Farm Network and GrassCheck programmes were selected from right across Northern Ireland to establish red clover swards on their farms.

There is also a smaller Lucerne component in the study which will investigate the feasibility of growing and utilizing Lucerne on three farms in Co Down.

Registrations are now open for the farm walk and places can be booked via the AgriSearch website.

To register for the farm walk visit the AgriSearch website: www.agrisearch.org.