Today in Pictures

[blueversi]

Harvesting red clover for the first time, late October.

[foragefarmer]

Harvesting red clover for the first time, late October.

Interesting picture, hard to figure out.

Your combine has the reel on it, yet in the picture the clover looks like it's in swaths.

[shtferbrains]

Harvesting red clover for the first time, late October.

Do you have anyone familiar with harvesting red clover to help?

[blueversi]

Interesting picture, hard to figure out.

Your combine has the reel on it, yet in the picture the clover looks like it's in swaths.

Ya I was straight cutting. High as possible as the straw was very green and lots of second growth. The swath look is because straw was tough and my chopper is far from being a Redekop MAV.

[blueversi]

Do you have anyone familiar with harvesting red clover to help?

A friend of mine has grown it quite a bit and offered a few tips for combine settings when I started.

[foragefarmer]

Ya I was straight cutting. High as possible as the straw was very green and lots of second growth. The swath look is because straw was tough and my chopper is far from being a Redekop MAV.

Straight cutting any forages for seed is basically impossible as the ripping stage is so varied.

Was there much seed left below your cut line?

Red clover is tough to dry out at the best of times even in swaths. Cylinder must have been tighten right up, and I'm thinking a decent wind to blow out all the green matter without losing seed.

Did you have to throw the seed on a drying floor?

Good for you!

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I can't imagine trying to get red clover dry enough to combine. We occasionally make the mistake of planting it with hay Because it will thrive in areas where alfalfa can't.
It grows 7 ft tall. Falls down flat on the ground. Impossible to dry. Difficult to cut even with a discbine. Can't imagine cutting it with a swather.

So what is a drying floor? Just full floor aeration bin? Is there any other way to dry grass seed? l

[blueversi]

Straight cutting any forages for seed is basically impossible as the ripping stage is so varied.

Was there much seed left below your cut line?

Red clover is tough to dry out at the best of times even in swaths. Cylinder must have been tighten right up, and I'm thinking a decent wind to blow out all the green matter without losing seed.

Did you have to throw the seed on a drying floor?

Good for you!

It was tough slugging for sure, no hard frost this fall to kill it off. I thought I was going to swath it because it grew rank and did go down then regrew. I didn’t swath though because we had a damp October and I didn’t think it would be a good idea. Left some seed down below for sure but not too bad. The guys that grow it here straight cut it, usually dessicate it though. But there was a short window before we got our snow that stayed that I slugged away at what I could. I dumped what I got in a wood bin and kept it for a week then sold it. Buyer took it so I guess it must have been dry enough for him. Net yield was around 550 pounds per acre.

[blueversi]

I can't imagine trying to get red clover dry enough to combine. We occasionally make the mistake of planting it with hay Because it will thrive in areas where alfalfa can't.
It grows 7 ft tall. Falls down flat on the ground. Impossible to dry. Difficult to cut even with a discbine. Can't imagine cutting it with a swather.

So what is a drying floor? Just full floor aeration bin? Is there any other way to dry grass seed? l

There’s not many suitable days here either to get it off. It’s a very determined plant. This was my first try at it so I don’t know what the seasoned growers do with it.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

So do you treat red clover as a annual, bi-annual or perennial when you are harvesting it? You harvest the same year you seed, or was it seesed last year? When it is desiccated, is that the end, or does it regrow next year?

[blueversi]

It is a short lived perennial it was underseeded last year, no seed production the first year, but a lot of biomass if the cover crop drowns out in spots and can’t compete is what I found out. It’s possible to get 2 to 3 years of seed harvest off it I’ve been told. But usually by year 3 I imagine yields dwindle and the field gets more weedy so dockage can get quite high. This field had a very good catch and is clean so I’ll leave it to try and produce another seed crop next year. As far as desiccating I’m not really sure, I assume with Reglone it should still come back the next year.

[shtferbrains]

Buyer took it so I guess it must have been dry enough for him. Net yield was around 550 pounds per acre.

Seems to be strong demand for clover by the look of retail pricing.
All the cover crop hype and programs might be influencing it.
Most used to go to the U S.

Will you grow it again?