Good for the pasture – good for the cow

Clover is important for organic cows and pastures which is why a series of organic research projects have focused on the grass-clover pasture.

In organic farming grass-clover pastures are the most common type of pasture. Both the cow and the pasture benefit from the inclusion of clover. It is good for crop rotation because clover fixes nitrogen. More than half of the feed that organic cows eat consists of grass-clover in one form or another.

This was the reason that scientists from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University have focused on organic pastures in a series of organic research projects. Some of the results are gathered in a report published by the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.

Herbs in the field

Herbs in the grass-clover pasture are one theme in the report. The overall goal is to increase the self-sustainability on organic farms with regard to vitamins and minerals

Herbs can contribute to increasing biodiversity in the field, achieving greater appetite in the cows, improving cow health and changing the nutritional value of the milk or meat from the cow.

The scientists investigated a range of herbs to see how well the herbs manage in competition with other plants in the pasture, how good their feed value is, and what their mineral content is. Chicory and plantains were particularly competitive and had a higher mineral content than the traditional grasses and legumes. The individual herbs had a characteristic mineral content profile with marked differences between species while the plant stage of development was less important.

Active worms

Another theme in the report is nutrient turnover in clover-rich crop rotation. It is shown that nitrogen from fixation in the pasture can be maintained – including during grazing – due to earthworm activity in the soil. When the pasture is ploughed, leaching can be minimized by growing spring barley with ryegrass.

The report also includes results from research regarding harvest methods, milk content and taste, and the calculations of feed and manure transportation costs.