Balansa clover

[Kevtherev]

whats the cut off for drilling this as a pure stand

What’s your intended use of it?

 

[spin cycle]

What’s your intended use of it?

dunno....just couple of spare acres was going to trial....hay

 

[Kevtherev]

dunno....just couple of spare acres was going to trial....hay

From experience with it I wouldn’t grow a pure stand sow it included in a grass mix for either silage or grazing.
Sow in the spring or autumn same as reseeding.

 

[sidjon]

Right, ordered some fixation clover and going to direct drill it with spring oat, fields have just been purchased and where organic and soil tests have come back very low in everything and hope to get a crop to whole crop.

 

[neilo]

Right, ordered some fixation clover and going to direct drill it with spring oat, fields have just been purchased and where organic and soil tests have come back very low in everything and hope to get a crop to whole crop.

Be aware that it makes very wet silage, so would ideally want wilting well, which I guess wouldn’t be so easy with wholecrop. If the oats were quite mature they would soak up some of the liquor perhaps?

 

[sidjon]

Be aware that it makes very wet silage, so would ideally want wilting well, which I guess wouldn’t be so easy with wholecrop. If the oats were quite mature they would soak up some of the liquor perhaps?

How much wilt and what stage did you cut it at?

 

[neilo]

How much wilt and what stage did you cut it at?

I've never done it as wholecrop, just with grass silage. I cut it as the ryegrass was plenty old enough tbh, with a view that it would soak up more of the effluent and perhaps dilute the silly protein level a bit. I cut and wilted it for 48 hours, tedding it straight after mowing. Baled & chopped in a Fusion baler, and it did 11 bales/ac. Analysis came back at only 33%DM, but seems wetter and those bales slumped a bit. Strangely the CP came back at only 6.9%, which was very obviously wrong, but it smelt and fed well to the early lambing ewes. I was going to get it analysed again, but couldn't be bothered in the end.

I have pictures from mowing somewhere, but the Fixation balansa was taller than the grass, with big, hollow stems and very sappy.

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Always better on the drier side that wet. Bales feed easier. Less slumping as above and less chance of mold. If stems look wet and fresh ted it again and leave it a few days.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I've never done it as wholecrop, just with grass silage. I cut it as the ryegrass was plenty old enough tbh, with a view that it would soak up more of the effluent and perhaps dilute the silly protein level a bit. I cut and wilted it for 48 hours, tedding it straight after mowing. Baled & chopped in a Fusion baler, and it did 11 bales/ac. Analysis came back at only 33%DM, but seems wetter and those bales slumped a bit. Strangely the CP came back at only 6.9%, which was very obviously wrong, but it smelt and fed well to the early lambing ewes. I was going to get it analysed again, but couldn't be bothered in the end.

I have pictures from mowing somewhere, but the Fixation balansa was taller than the grass, with big, hollow stems and very sappy.

Thoughts on this now , please?

 

[neilo]

Thoughts on this now , please?

I continued to use the seed Germinal had kindly provided for me to trial, chucking some into several other mixes. It was certainly more impressive than the Paradana Balansa we’d tried before, but doesn’t seem to persist for long.

I haven’t bothered sourcing any more seed, and Germinal aren’t pushing it in their mixes, which probably says all that’s necessary.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I continued to use the seed Germinal had kindly provided for me to trial, chucking some into several other mixes. It was certainly more impressive than the Paradana Balansa we’d tried before, but doesn’t seem to persist for long.

I haven’t bothered sourcing any more seed, and Germinal aren’t pushing it in their mixes, which probably says all that’s necessary.

If I was to put some in now then when would it be ready to cut ?

 

[neilo]

If I was to put some in now then when would it be ready to cut ?

The Fixation seemed to grow as fast as hybrid ryegrasses, the Paradana (which came from Yorkshire) was far slower to get established and grow.
It seems to germinate, then sit there doing nothing for a month, then grow like nuts. I assume it’s establishing a good root system in that month.

It’s got big, hollow stems full of sap, so will need a good wilt. Other people that have tried it in a silage crop have reported that it wipes it out after one cut. Persistence might be better if cut earlier? When I cut it, the Fixation grew back in the stubble very quickly.

 

[Kevtherev]

If I was to put some in now then when would it be ready to cut ?

Wait til soil temperatures rise a little
8deg or more for clover of any type.

 

[TelesnaAg]

Bolta is the best all round variety. Seed licence has expired now as welk i believe.

Ant...

 

[Kevtherev]

@som farmer thread here on it

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Finally got a good year here for the balansa to fire. (Been a while due to dry springs).

Balansa and self sown oats. Above waist high

A bit of pure balansa from last night. Plain old paradana as I wasnt spending a fortune on seed this year if it was going to do what it had done the last 5 years... But, thankfully it didn't.

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Todays paddock

I'm just under 5'11" it's still going through the JDat 12 to 13kph despite how thick it is .

 

[iulianV]

Hi,
From where do you buy FixatioN?