Cover Crop clovers

Clovers are used as a cover crop to build soil. They are prolific producers of nitrogen. Several commonly used clovers are listed below. 

Crimson clover

CISCO currently handles three different varieties of crimson clover:

Crimson clover is a southern forage that has been moved to the north to be planted as a cover crop.  It will generally overwinter.

It does well in warm weather and needs to be seeded 6-8 weeks before a hard freeze; it is best planted after wheat.

Crimson clover does well on many soil types, but does not like heavy, poorly drained soils.  It can produce 70-120 lb/acre of nitrogen if allowed to bloom in the spring.  Many farmers like to follow wheat preceding corn.  

Dixie Crimson Clover leaf structure - picture taken in May.

Crimson clover terminates easily in the spring, or it can be harvested as a high quality forage crop. Tonnage generally runs 1 - 2 tons/acre depending upon growing conditions.
 

balansa clover

Fixation Balansa Clover has been selected for several attributes such as winterhardiness, increased yield (whether for forage or biomass),
and late maturity.  

We have seen using Fixation Balansa clover because of how late it can be seeded.  It works well after row crop harvest.  

In the fall don't expect to see much top growth, but take a shovel and look at the root growth.

In the spring, it will take off in a hurry and produce a nice amount of tonnage and nitrogen.  

The other nice attribute of Fixation is that it breaks down quickly when terminated because it has hollow stems.  The hollow stems also help it dry quickly as a forage.  

It only takes a couple of pounds per acre of seed.  Fixation is a nice alternative to crimson clover and we have had good success seeding it with cereal rye in the fall.

Planted October 10 in Ohio. Picture taken in January. Check out the nodules.

Fixation Balansa Clover leaf structure - picture taken in May.

Balansa Clover in Iowa

The video below shows the potential value of Balansa clover on your farm. It's under one minute in length. 

Frosty berseem clover

Frost Berseem Clover is a cold tolerant berseem clover that is an alternative to crimson clover.  Frosty has been able to survive temperatures as low as 5 degrees F without winterkilling.  It is also an excellent source of livestock feed.  

Frosty berseem will tolerate low pH soils as well as saturated soils.  It is a great nitrogen producer.  It's best to plant Frosty  6-8 weeks before a hard freeze.  It likes to grow in warm weather.

Frosty Tech Sheet

Red Clover

Red clover has been used for years in a number of capacities, including hay, pastures, and even cover cropping. Below is a picture of a wheat field in central IL after red clover had been frost seeded. It’s pretty small but you can tell there is great coverage. This was seeded March 6 and the pictures are from April 2.