James Mimnagh, Teagasc Signpost Advisor, recently visited Enda Farrell’s Signpost dairy farm in Carrickedmond, Co. Longford to see how recently established crops of white and red clover are performing.
In the video below, Enda talks about the grass-white clover mix he established back in May. He sowed 3kg of white clover with mostly quality tetraploid grasses (around 60%). He outlines the post-emergence spraying programme and the grazings achieved to date.
Since May, it’s been grazed twice at pre-grazing covers of between 1,000 and 1,200kg DM/ha. Enda says this helps the clover get a good start and tiller out well.
The second part of the video focuses on the red clover silage sward, reseeded in early June and established for a four-cut silage system to provide quality feed for freshly calved cows in the spring. The first cut off this sward, weather permitting, is targeted for 8-9 weeks post establishment. Enda plans to save silage from this crop as bales, allowing for harvesting flexibility away from the main cuts of silage.
For full insights, watch the video below: