There is enough clover seed in the country to supply traditional reseeding needs, but not enough stock for a general over-sowing campaign, seed companies have warned.

A massive increase in demand for clover seed, and its nitrogen-fixing capabilities, is anticipated this year due to the ongoing fertiliser-supply challenges and the consequent hike in prices.

Some seed companies fear that demand for clover could double or treble this year. However, industry sources cautioned that there are limits to the volume of seed that they will be able to source.

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Seed companies said demand for clover is up right across Europe and Irish supplies will be heavily influenced by the volume of seed secured from New Zealand. However, the Kiwi seed harvest has been disappointing this year.

Traditionally Ireland sows around 200t of red and white clover each year, with the bulk of this included in grass-seed mixes. The area reseeded each year varies from 250,000ac to 320,000ac. This equates to around 2% of the country’s grassland.

Enquiries

Michael Slattery of Germinal Seeds in Tipperary said there were a lot of farmer enquiries for clover but no real buying as yet. He said there was greater farmer interest in oversowing clover this year on to silage ground post-harvesting or onto tightly grazed paddocks.

However, he cautioned that the scope for large-scale over-sowing could be restricted by clover seed supplies.

“Clover is tight, although we mopped up what [seed] was available and we all have a bit more than normal. It will depend how reseeding goes this year; last year was a massive year for reseeding,” he explained.

Dave Barry of Goldcrop agreed that supplies of clover seed were tight, and he did not rule out rationing stocks.

“Regular customers will have to be looked after; after that, we’ll have to see what we have,” he said.