A big increase in the demand for clover seed means that some merchants and importers are concerned about having enough clover seed available to satisfy farmer demand.

Farmers are flocking to clover in their droves, as they look for ways to replace chemical nitrogen which is expensive, scarce and has a high environmental footprint.

There is better news when it comes to clover-safe sprays as a derogation looks set to be granted, which would allow for clover-safe sprays to be applied as a post-emergence spray on reseeds. This derogation was granted last year after the sale of all 2,4-DB chemicals was prohibited since the end of October 2020.

Clovermax and DB-Plus are the two brand names of clover-safe sprays which were approved for use last year and it is expected that they will be on sale again this year, provided the Department of Agriculture grants the derogation, as is expected.

While there appears to be little issue as of yet with sourcing grass seed, the availability of clover seed will be under pressure.

There is enough supply for a normal year but not enough supply to meet the extra demand as more farmers want to sow clover to reduce the need for chemical nitrogen.

Farmers are flocking to clover in their droves, as they look for ways to replace chemical nitrogen which is expensive, scarce and has a high environmental footprint

Farmers looking for clover seed to include as part of a full reseeding mix, or to use for over-sowing should try and secure their orders early.

Merchants are already experiencing big demand from farmers and some are having to limit what they sell in order to have some for everyone that needs it. Although this may mean that not everyone gets all they ask for.

It’s important to only look for what clover seed you need. There is absolutely no point in over-sowing any more than 20% of the farm in one year. No more than 10% should be done at any one time.

The best time to over-sow is early in the year – ideally, in April or early May.

Nitrogen fertiliser should be reduced to near zero for a few months after sowing and the over-sown area should be grazed regularly at low covers of around 1,000kg DM/ha to give as much light to the young seedlings as possible.

This sounds easy to do but, in practice, farmers find it very difficult to manage as you need to step out of the normal rotation in order to graze the lighter covers. This can often mean that the fields you should be grazing next end up with too high a cover on them.

In practice, over-sowing any more than one paddock at a time is very difficult.

Another thing to keep in mind is to not leave it too late for over-sowing.

Conditions

Generally speaking, late May or if conditions are suitable, early June is the latest and April is the best month for it.

Sowing rates are typically 2kg per acre and methods vary.

It is important to state that success is hit and miss and there is a fair amount of good fortune in achieving a good outcome, even where all the correct protocols are followed.

Including clover in a full reseed is a much more secure way to ensure good clover contents but unlike with over-sowing, the field is out of production for much longer.