An Augher dairy farmer, David Clarke, will be discussing his experience of establishing red clover swards at an AgriSearch farm walk next Wednesday, June 5 from 11am to 1pm.

David farms 80 spring-calving dairy cows alongside a broiler-breeder poultry unit near Augher in partnership with his father.

David established red clover silage swards last year as part of AgriSearch’s ZeroNsile project.

Also at the walk, Dr. David Patterson (Grassland Agronomist from AFBI) and Robert Patterson (Grassland Technologist at CAFRE) will outline the key steps needed to successfully establish red clover swards, including soil fertility, nutrient management, seed selection and reseeding methods.

Conail Keown (CAFRE) will discuss how to make best use of red clover within dairy cow diets, as well as the benefits that red clover can bring in terms of lowering fertiliser use, having higher protein forage and the potential to lower your carbon footprint.

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.

Some 12 farmers from the Beacon Farm Network and GrassCheck programmes were selected from right across Northern Ireland to establish red clover swards on their farms.

There is also a smaller Lucerne component in the study which will investigate the feasibility of growing and utilising Lucerne on three farms in County Down.

Registrations are now open for the farm walk and places can be booked via the AgriSearch website.

To register for the farm walk, visit the AgriSearch website at www.agrisearch.org.