Clover 2026: The Move is On

The response of Ireland’s grassland farmers to the challenges of reducing chemical nitrogen (N) fertiliser use, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing N use efficiency (NUE) has been very positive.

Over the last three years (2022-2025), total N usage has averaged 313,424 tonnes, a 17% reduction on the previous three years. In line with the chemical N reduction, white clover usage increased to an average of 353 tonnes of seed (2022-2025), just over a 40% increase on the previous three years. This clearly shows that Irish grassland farmers are adopting lower chemical N input systems.

White clover has a crucial role to play in sustainable Irish pasture-based milk and meat production systems. The advantages of high-quality feed, N fixation benefits have led to a resurgence of interest in its use, as a means of increasing the economic return and reducing environmental footprints in pasture-based milk and meat production systems.

In the upcoming webinar on 25 March, Dr. Sarah Walsh, Grassland Researcher at Teagasc, will introduce new aspects of clover research. Sarah explained that; “recent research focuses on improving the compatibility between perennial ryegrass varieties and white clover to help maintain stable white clover levels in swards, emphasising that white clover stability is essential for farmers, as findings show that persistent white clover varieties can increase white clover content and enhance N fixation. Selecting the most suitable grass and white clover varieties for each farming system is crucial for developing productive swards, which in turn supports improved grazing performance throughout the season”.

Dr. Michael Egan, Grassland Researcher at Teagasc, who leads the Clover150 programme and will present the most recent results said; “if farmers are to achieve the benefits of animal production and reductions in chemical N fertiliser, an establishment plan for white clover needs to be put in place. The optimum months are April and May for establishing white clover in swards through either over-sowing, or reseeding, however establishment guidelines must be followed to ensure the optimal balance of grass and white clover in swards. The Clover150 group have now achieved high levels of clover on their farms. They are growing close to 14 tonnes of grass Dry Matter per hectare (t DM/ha) with 175kg N per hectare (N/ha) input”.

Dairy farmer Jim White, from County Tipperary and member of the Clover150 programme commented; “clover has provided my farm with the ability to maintain more than 13.5 t DM/ha grown, while reducing chemical N fertiliser by 70 kg N/ha. White clover is now part of our grazing system; we are reducing our dependency on chemical N and have adapted our grazing management in a way that clover is maintained and adding real value to our farming system”. Jim’s farm now has more than 70% of the swards with an average sward clover content of 20%.

Professor Michael O’Donovan, Head of Grassland Research at Teagasc, will highlight the large evidence base on the animal performance gains from perennial ryegrass/white clover swards, across enterprises. He said; “the animal performance increase across milk production, beef production (suckler beef and dairy calf for beef) and sheep systems with white clover swards is consistent and repeatable. We expect the use of white clover to increase again in 2026. The volatility of chemical N prices looks like it will continue in 2026. The necessity for grassland farmers to transition to grass/clover swards reducing their dependence on bought in N has never been more important. New research and innovations will assist farmers establish, manage and maximise white clover’s potential within productive, sustainable grassland systems”.

New Innovations in PastureBase Ireland (PBI)

Michael O’Donovan said that Teagasc are continuing building new innovations in PastureBase Ireland (PBI) to bring the management of grass/white clover swards to the centre of the system. PastureBase Ireland is an online digital tool to help Irish dairy, beef, and sheep farmers manage their grass production and utilisation.

One of the new PastureBase Ireland innovations for Spring 2026 is having a Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) calculator available for beef and sheep farms. This tool enables farmers to quantify how many kilograms of output they are yielding per kg of N applied, identify N inputs on their farm and monitor N surplus across their farm. Teagasc grassland researchers Dr. Philip Creighton (Athenry) and Dr. Peter Doyle (Grange), as well as PBI co-ordinator Dr. Caitlin Looney, has progressed this innovation, where it is now available in PBI. Better N efficiency reduces the risk of losses to the environment and can lead to improved financial performance. Accurately measuring NUE is the first step to meaningful improvement on farms. It provides farmers and advisors with a practical and easy to use calculator for NUE. The calculator can be integrated with advisory services and provides farm specific information on where they can make simple, targeted changes. Further planned improvements to PBI will be highlighted on the webinar.

The webinar on white clover starts at 7:30pm on Wednesday, 25 March and will be hosted by Dr. Emer Kennedy, Dairy Enterprise Leader, Teagasc. Register for the webinar here

Watch a short clip below where Dr. Emer Kennedy, Dairy Enterprise Leader, Teagasc provides an overview as to what will be discussed during the webinar.