May 24, 2021, 9:19 am
Making best use of clover in beef production systems was one of the main themes addressed in a recent beef webinar.
The event was hosted by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), in conjunction with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), Northern Ireland Meat Export Association (NIMEA) and National Beef Association (NBA).
AFBI’s Dr. David Patterson confirmed that clover’s inclusion in grass swards can act to reduce the carbon footprint of a beef enterprise by 19%.
“Many studies have confirmed the benefit of including clover in grass swards. Work has shown that grass / white clover mixes, given 5 kg of N/ha can carry 86% of the stock recorded, for a pure ryegrass sward receiving 360kg/N,” he said.