Francis McDonnell farms 50 dairy cows which are milked on a robot and grazed for 12 hours per day during the summer months. Francis is a relatively new entrant to dairying having started milking in 2018.
The ZeroNsile project was established in 2023 to examine the feasibility and practicalities of producing silage without the use of manufactured N fertiliser, focusing primarily on red clover swards. Francis selected a sward mix that suited his heavy soil conditions which included a high proportion of Timothy and late varieties of perennial ryegrass along side both red and white clover.
The importance of having the right soil pH when establishing red clover was highlighted. AgriSearch’s Agriculture Manager John Morrow said that farmers should target a pH of 6.5 before sowing. John also highlighted the importance of getting nutrient management right. On many of the farms slurry on its own was insufficient to meet the potash (K) requirements. It is important to plan this in advance as zero N fertilisers are not readily available from merchants at short notice.
David Linton from Barenbrug said the caution needed to be exercised if tedding red clover as leaf shatter can be an issue. This needs to be avoided as most of the protein is located in the clover leaf. The crop should also be allowed to flower once per year and the sward should not be cut too low when mowing.
A copy of the handout from the event can be downloaded here.