Managing red clover under an organic farming system
Kay O’Sullivan, organic farmer and participant in the Teagasc Future Beef and Signpost Programmes, has been managing red clover silage swards successfully for the past number of years. In this update, she shares some of the key management tasks involved.
Once red clover is managed correctly, it should last 5 to 6 years. In the first year of establishment, it is important to let the plant flower before cutting. When harvesting red clover, I aim for 48 hours of dry weather to allow the clover to wilt. To avoid damaging the growing point when mowing, it is very important to keep the blades of the mower the height of a mobile phone off the ground. I don’t ted out the silage, and I just leave in rows and bale, as some of the leaves could break. Typically, I get an average 8 to 9 bales to the acre with three cuts per year. As red clover is a nutrient hungry crop, slurry is spread using the dribble bar after each cut.
Reseeding
The redstart area, where cattle were outwintered, will be reseeded. I plan on putting in 5 acres of multi-species into that ground. I also have another 5 acres earmarked to reseeding with red clover silage. I selected this paddock based on grass measurement conducted throughout 2025 and early 2026. The data indicates that this paddock has consistently underperformed in terms of grass growth and productivity compared to the rest of the farm.
I operate a minimum-till reseeding programme every year on my farm. As part of this approach, I use a false seedbed system to help control weeds before reseeding. This involves preparing the seedbed in advance to encourage weed seeds to germinate and then discing for a second time to eliminate these seedlings prior to sowing the new sward. I find this works really well in my organic system, where I am not permitted to use any herbicides.
I am also reseeding a small area with Egyptian clover, Persian clover, and a Westerwolds silage mix this year. I have grown this previously and found it to be a very fast growing crop, which gives a very high yield of high-quality silage with a high protein content.
The suckler herd
All calves were weighed at birth with an average weight of 45kg, with one calf from a first calver weighing 63kg (sired by Tubridmore Twomey). I only used one AI straw from this bull. It will be very interesting to see how this calf performs compared to his comrades over the next 12 months.
The cows and calves are out full time in sheltered paddocks, and they are moved to fresh grass every three days. They have access to a hi-mag / high fertility mineral lick. The cattle finished grazing the Redstart in March and they were weighed and moved to last year’s reseed of multi species. The first grazing rotation is almost complete, with slurry being applied to a few grazing paddocks low in P, with additional slurry being applied to the silage ground. I did the 5th grass walk of 2026 last week and the measures were uploaded to PastureBase. The farm cover was 1,082kg DM/ha or 644kg DM/LU with 40 days grass ahead of stock.
Moth monitoring programme
I got involved with the Farmer Moth Monitoring Programme with the National Biodiversity Data Centre last year. The first survey for 2026 has taken place. It involves putting down two traps on selected nights in two selected areas of the farm. The trap consists of a bucket with an LED light attached and egg cartons inside the bucket. Early morning, the traps are inspected and photos are taken of the moths and sent to Tim at the National Biodiversity Data Centre for recording. For April, I had a good result, one moth I got was called an oak beauty. It is a lovely moth with camouflage similar to a lichen covered tree trunk. The moths in the trap are then released by a hedge once all have been recorded.
The above first appeared in the Farming Examiner as part of a Signpost Programme updated and was adapted for use on Teagasc Daily.