organicguy
Member
- Location
- North East of the south west
Back to the op. Make sure it is dry, over 50% dm or will end up black sludge.
If done right amazing food.
If done right amazing food.
Red clover silage
- Thread starter Hughesy
- Start date
sticky
Member
- Location
- Near Stratford upon Avon
This is my second cut that will be grazed by lambs as the field is too wet to get on with any machinery.
- Location
- Ceredigion
I'm not a fan of Westerwolds with Red Clover myself
Hybrid Ryegass seems to be its Ideal partner
- Location
- South Molton
I will say again we need to change our thinking, the lush green biomass will be easily incorporated by the soil life, worms are only a small part of that.
The chemically destroyed lifeless biomass will suck the Nitrogen out of the soil and no doubt you will spread some fertiliser to make good.
Do you feed all the "livestock" dead lifeless food or just the soil livestock?
Not a big difference in green manures, whether legumes or grasses, and some of the excess nitrogen in the ley you break will be absorbed by the grass, stored and released as nutrition for the crop.
View attachment green-manures-effects-on-soil-nutrient-management-and-soil-physical-and-biological-properties.pdf
- Location
- South Molton
Cows still love the black sludge, but not as 100% of the diet
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Agreed, I'd not sow that mix again and have put in 20ac of hybrid ryegrass/RC this year.
I had a cut of that field last summer, after an early graze. It made and smelt lovely, like sweet vinegar, but the Westerwolds had already gone to head as the RC started flowering and was like straw in the bales. Did 8 bales/ac with no fert though, and was good tucker for keeping ewes going in the drought. Cut it earlier this year, and likely a lot better quality for it.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Where's the obligatory dog, to show the height of the crop? Can't have a crop photo without a dog in it...
Lambs will fly on that.
- Location
- Buxton, Derbyshire
Just cut my red clover experiment yesterday.
Was sown last September. Long-term grass mix with a high white clover inclusion, plus 1 bag of red clover over 9ac. First cut at the start of June didn't see much red clover. Second cut yesterday there was loads and in full flower.
Not had any inputs since some muck was ploughed in pre sowing.
Was sown last September. Long-term grass mix with a high white clover inclusion, plus 1 bag of red clover over 9ac. First cut at the start of June didn't see much red clover. Second cut yesterday there was loads and in full flower.
Not had any inputs since some muck was ploughed in pre sowing.
- Location
- Ceredigion
He's not destroying biomass he's feeding it, livestock are the best converters of biomass you can get
Mature biomass can use up more nutrients in the conversion process than they provide if your not carfull , especially if its not incorporated
Legumes break down a lot quicker so not sure what you mean by not a big difference
- Location
- South Molton
Need to feed that livestock under the field as well, the holistic cycle.
Also about total energy use not just diesel and plastic.
It's complicated I know.
- Location
- South Molton
Livestock converting into what? Meat and milk that's removed from the system?
So where do these nutrients go then?
I said incorporated.
- Location
- South Molton
Biomass incorporation or graze and spray?
I have a Westerwold/RC/WC ley in it’s third year of mowing & (predominantly) grazing. The red is still there, as is some of the Godawful Westerwold (having self seeded a few times), but the WC is really thriving. I was toying with the idea of a squirt of glyphosate this Autumn, then DD some...
thefarmingforum.co.uk
Move the discussions to here
- Location
- somerset
and a big article in the news, today, glyphosate causes cancer
looks like it won't be about much longer, bugger.
- Location
- South Molton
Really, your OK with using a product that could be giving your customers Cancer?
Cancer or glyphosate.
Not too difficult of a choice really is it?
- Location
- somerset
r/clover seed, will sit there, and germinate when IT thinks conditions are right.
included it in mixes, see little 1st year, plenty 2nd.
- Location
- Ceredigion
If you are farming you will eventually be removing something if its livestock or crops of some sort taken away
Livestock take some away yes but also return it to the soil , if you take the livestock out of the system you lose more as your system uses up nirtogen in the process ,Before the biomass is available again
- Location
- South Molton
Where does this Nitrogen go then.If you are farming you will eventually be removing something in if its livestock or crops of some sort
Livestock take some away yes but also return it to the soil , if you take the livestock out of the system you lose more as your system uses up nirtogen in the process
You haven't answered the question.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
IF it is banned, it will purely be a political decision. There is no evidence that it causes cancer, from anywhere in the world, despite what @Sid might like to suggest to promote the organic mantra.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
The living roots and the sheep muck being incorporated from above are feeding the soil fauna. If I do use glyphosate to kill off that ley, which I certainly will at some stage, it won't kill the clover plants, just the weed (Westerwolds being one) grasses. The clover will come back and feed with the next crop, unless it goes into cereals, where I will kill out the clover in the growing crop.