Fear preventing clover's uptake

A £150 investment in a 25kg sack of clover seed could generate an annual return of 233-383 per cent on capital by cutting the need for artificial N – and yet farmers are more likely to invest money in fixed notice saving schemes offering 4.35%.

So said independent consultant Mike Gillingham of the Courtyard Partnership, speaking at the Institute of Biological and Environmental Rural Sciences (IBERS).

“What stops most producers making use of clover is the fear – that if we stop using artificial N, and a crop fails, then we’ll have nothing to feed cows next winter.”

It was an out-dated notion, he suggested, along with concerns over managing weeds in clover-rich swards, as research continues to add weight to evidence in favour of its inclusion into forage mixes.

“Official data shows clover contributes 161kg to 343kg N per hectare each season,” he said. “And yet we’re still hung up on using artificial N.”

Eco impact

There is an ‘eco’ impact too, he said. According to World Bank figures, in Western Europe, agriculture accounts for 5 per cent of total energy consumption and 52 per cent of that is for manufacturing fertiliser alone.

“For every tonne N produced, transported, and spread, it’s equivalent in energy use to 1,100 litres or 242 gallons of red diesel,” he said.

“You could drive a small family car once around the world and produce less greenhouse gas than is produced for each tonne of N.”

Assuming a 5kg per ha seed rate for white clover, a 25kg bag costing around £150 would be sufficient for five hectares (12 acres). If using a low estimate of N fixation at 160kg per ha (65kg per acre) per year, it amounts to 2.4t for a three-year ley.

Mr Gillingham calculated with N at 50p per kg, having recently fallen from £1 per kg, that was a return of £1,200 over the three years, or an annual estimated return of 233 per cent.

“If you take a higher N fixation rate of 250kg per ha N it amounts to £1,875 or an AER of 383 per cent,” he said.

“We have to overcome the ‘fear’ factor – it’s no excuse not to use the wheel just because it might fall off.”