Mucky Manor Pics

This one broke her rear leg as a calf when her mother, a heifer, stood on her just after calving. It was very crooked for the first 18 months but approaching 24 months it is improved but you can still see the right leg out of line. She has never been housed and gets a pinch of nuts once a week just to get her to come to the gate. She has really piled on condition in the last 3 months. We will keep her until September.

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The first hand sown clover looks really well now. There's a really thick matt of it across the field and the cows went for it before the grass. This was a wet enough field and some parts were too wet to roll after seeding but you can see some seed emerging now from some of the poached spots - 10 weeks after they were sown. There's some chicory coming but no plantain. I'm reading that overfeeding of multispectral, and even stitching it into existing grass is not working brilliantly. Best results are coming from ground that has been tilled.

I have sowed clover on about one third of my grazing ground this year. Next year I intend to have a better way of preparing the ground. I won't be going with an expensive mix with added chicory and plantain - just straight clover.

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Would there be any chance of clover establishment if just spread on to an existing sward?
 
Great result Mucky, are you having any issues with bloat?

Bloat is really only an issue if they go onto hi clover ground hungry and then gouge themselves. I am being careful enough to try to ensure that bellies are full when moving when moving to this type of pasture. After this round of grazing, calves will be on creep feed so that will reduce the risk greatly for them. Cows are lower risk to bloat in my experience.
 
Would there be any chance of clover establishment if just spread on to an existing sward?

The seed has to make contact with the soil - it's as simple as that. If existing pasture is grazed low then spreading clover into it and rolling afterwards will work to some extent. I have some pics earlier where I strip grazed and spread clover to allow cattle to walk it in. It's coming, but I'm not 100% sure of it yet - I have just grazed it for the second time since seeding and hopefully the next growth should bring out a lot more clover.

I personally think that a spring tine harrow would be ideal for the job - something with tines close together that you could just do a quick run over pasture after grazing, spread the seed and then roll. I think it would bring brilliant results with clover. It's definitely in my plans.
 
The seed has to make contact with the soil - it's as simple as that. If existing pasture is grazed low then spreading clover into it and rolling afterwards will work to some extent. I have some pics earlier where I strip grazed and spread clover to allow cattle to walk it in. It's coming, but I'm not 100% sure of it yet - I have just grazed it for the second time since seeding and hopefully the next growth should bring out a lot more clover.

I personally think that a spring tine harrow would be ideal for the job - something with tines close together that you could just do a quick run over pasture after grazing, spread the seed and then roll. I think it would bring brilliant results with clover. It's definitely in my plans.

If the tines are too close together though it will gather every bit of thatch and drag I would have thought.
 
The first hand sown clover looks really well now. There's a really thick matt of it across the field and the cows went for it before the grass. This was a wet enough field and some parts were too wet to roll after seeding but you can see some seed emerging now from some of the poached spots - 10 weeks after they were sown. There's some chicory coming but no plantain. I'm reading that overfeeding of multispectral, and even stitching it into existing grass is not working brilliantly. Best results are coming from ground that has been tilled.

I have sowed clover on about one third of my grazing ground this year. Next year I intend to have a better way of preparing the ground. I won't be going with an expensive mix with added chicory and plantain - just straight clover.

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The clover can take over too.. IMG_20220730_114551.jpgIMG_20220730_114600.jpg
 
Using up the last bit of seed for this year before average temperatures drop. Aberace clover has been trialled in the uk for feeding to animals in order to spread it through the dung. It was the best performing clover seed in the trial with over 80% of seed fed germinating.

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Does the clover not grow in clumps at the dung pat's after feeding it?
Have oversowed a few paddocks this year, mostly successful though one seems to have been a poor take
 
Does the clover not grow in clumps at the dung pat's after feeding it?
Have oversowed a few paddocks this year, mostly successful though one seems to have been a poor take
I did some last year and found that it was well spread out - i put about half a kg per acre over 6 acres. It was not over populated but this year it has doubled and tripled.

Cows tend to lie in the one corner and dung in the one spot in most fields but calves spread out further. I suppose if you could run a chain harrow on it if you thought it wasn't going to be clumped
 
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