Clover ads protein to your livestock and nitrogen to your soil

    This versatile, multi-purpose crop helps you raise milk and meat production for the coming season – and for several seasons to come.

    28/02/2018


    Protein-rich clovers for self-sufficiency

    Clover is a versatile legume that raises your milk and meat yields by adding more protein to your feed. Our latest varieties grow well across a range of soils and climates, making them an easy way to boost yields.

    By sowing DLF clovers in your grassland, you could raise the protein output by around 3.000 kg per hectare. That's a huge saving on expensive protein substrates – and one that could potentially last for several years. Clover is a hardy plant that survives the winter well. It will continue to add protein to your grassland for several years to come.


    Spend less on nitrogen fertiliser

    Clover naturally adds nitrogen to your soil. It uses a symbiotic relationship with bacteria to fix nitrogen in the soil. The best DLF varieties will fix as much as 200 kg N/ha. That could easily be enough nitrogen to feed the following crop throughout the entire growing season. That's the year you'll find yourself buying in much less expensive fertiliser – perhaps adding no fertiliser at all.


    White or red clover?

    Developing the most effective clover varieties takes time, especially when clover itself comes in several species. The most common – white clover (Trifolium repens) and red clover (Trifolium pratense) – are both highly digestible, persistent, and excellent fixers of nitrogen.

    White clover is most often found in mixtures for grazing. It has small leaves, spreads laterally, and tolerates close grazing. In contrast, red clover has an aggressive, upright growth that makes it ideal for cutting and silage.
    Red clover (red clover 2n and red clover 4n) also has a deep root system that helps maintain yield even when it's dry.


    Even better clovers to come

    As farmers push to increase yields, DLF is investing more in its clover varieties. We intend to help farmers make much more use of it as clover is such a good source of protein. Our ambitious breeding programme aims to make improvements in every area: protein content, yields, disease tolerance, persistency, and digestibility. We're also looking to develop varieties for all soil and climate types.


    Advantages of clover

    • High in energy, protein and minerals
    • High digestibility
    • High persistency
    • Highly suitable for hay, silage, and grazing
    • Valuable break crop though N-fixation
    • Suits a wide range of soils, climates and growing conditions.


    Learn more about using clover to improve your forage

    To learn more, contact your local DLF representative or product manager. They will be delighted to help you.