Maintaining White Clover in grazing swards for sheep

[Razor8]

I’m struggling to keep clover in swards at home. Seems to be getting less and less each year in swards reseeded in last 3 years and PH & P&K are all spot on

I’m grazing tight but it’s not improving things, any tips to help re-establish it without hiring in a contractor to stitch some more in??

If I just spread a bag with a wagtail will it work or a waste of time??

 

[DrDunc]

I’m struggling to keep clover in swards at home. Seems to be getting less and less each year in swards reseeded in last 3 years and PH & P&K are all spot on

I’m grazing tight but it’s not improving things, any tips to help re-establish it without hiring in a contractor to stitch some more in??

If I just spread a bag with a wagtail will it work or a waste of time??

Grazing it tight with sheep here, I find the opposite; the white clover takes over because the ryegrass is grazed too low for competition.

How much nitrogen are you spreading?

I have successfully reintroduced clover with a fert spreader in fields where it's been wiped out after spraying for dockens. It was given a good going over with grass harrows first to create bare ground, and spread at 4m bout width mixed into some P&K fertiliser.

 

[scholland]

Perhaps need to do more in depth soil analysis incase something else is lacking. The below describes how clover is the canary in the mine of grassland ie it will struggle with nutrient shortage before the grass will.
https://beeflambnz.podbean.com/e/dr-doug-edmeades-making-the-most-of-your-fertiliser/

 

[milkloss]

Yes, I would say nutrients is the issue. Clover is quite sensitive to k deficiency I think. Don't forget you are also establishing clover rather than just maintaining it so a ph for establishing a reseed is likely to be the number to aim for, maybe 6.5 at least. You also want small leafed clover, anything medium/large will get wrecked by sheep.

 

[neilo]

I’m struggling to keep clover in swards at home. Seems to be getting less and less each year in swards reseeded in last 3 years and PH & P&K are all spot on

I’m grazing tight but it’s not improving things, any tips to help re-establish it without hiring in a contractor to stitch some more in??

If I just spread a bag with a wagtail will it work or a waste of time??

How much N are you applying? Any Sulphur used?

When you say you're 'grazing tight', are you grazing rotationally/resting or set stocking?

 

[Dkb]

How much N are you applying? Any Sulphur used?

When you say you're 'grazing tight', are you grazing rotationally/resting or set stocking?

Is sulphur bad for clover?

 

[neilo]

Is sulphur bad for clover?

Sulphur deficiency is I believe.

 

[GTB]

I’m struggling to keep clover in swards at home. Seems to be getting less and less each year in swards reseeded in last 3 years and PH & P&K are all spot on

I’m grazing tight but it’s not improving things, any tips to help re-establish it without hiring in a contractor to stitch some more in??

If I just spread a bag with a wagtail will it work or a waste of time??

Are you using a lot of nitrogen or spraying a lot of weeds? You can easily sow more clover mixed in with some ferts. Done it here a few times after spraying etc. Works well.

 

[Razor8]

Here is a typical sample of a soil test I have taken this year,


haven’t sprayed for weeds apart from spot spraying.


Have used a bag of urea and another bag of CAN this year so far.


Sheep are rotational grazed


I haven’t used sulphur; can it be spread on its own?

 

[milkloss]

Wow, basic indices and ph isn't a problem is it! Is something getting locked up somehow?

 

[Razor8]

For completeness here is grass analysis taken a few years ago and sulphur looked good

 

[2YardOfLard]

I’m struggling to keep clover in swards at home. Seems to be getting less and less each year in swards reseeded in last 3 years and PH & P&K are all spot on

I’m grazing tight but it’s not improving things, any tips to help re-establish it without hiring in a contractor to stitch some more in??

If I just spread a bag with a wagtail will it work or a waste of time??

Things you can easily do yourself to encourage the clover you still have to spread---
Graze very hard with sheep in autumn. If November sun hits the swollen bit of clover stem that's just above the soil, it causes the plant to divide & mulyiply up.
Generally, graze hard then rest works better than set-stocking .
Lime if acid (edited because I looked it up - it likes 5.8-6.0 apparently)