Forage News by Barenbrug

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RENEW Your Pastures in the New Year!

 

RENEW®

The planting of clovers in mid to late winter is an excellent way to RENEW® your pastures and hay fields. Planting during this time of year is also known as “Frost- Seeding." This is when the soil surface is freezing and thawing repeatedly, causing the soil to loosen or what we call “honeycomb”. This is a good time to seed clover because it allows the seed to have good “seed-to-soil” contact. When it comes to frost seeding clover, we have several tips for you to follow to ensure you experience success:

 

  1. Graze or clip you fields close, so that the grasses are removed. This will allow for the clover seed to reach the soil easier. An added benefit of leaving your livestock on your fields is that they will also help trudge the seed in. Once the clover seedlings start to establish, pull your livestock off, and allow the clover to establish without the pressure.
  2. When the late-spring comes, make sure to keep the grass canopy under control by grazing or clipping. This is done so the grass does not smoother the clover seedlings. In our experience, not keeping the grass canopy suppressed can be the number one reason for a stand loss of clover during the establishment year.

 

The important factor to keep in mind when considering clover for your fields is this. Applying clovers to pasture and hay fields is a very economical and low-cost way to RENEW® your pastures this new year!

 

Learn more about RENEW