Are you using a commercial seed like Imperial or Briar Ridge, or are you buying a clover from the local feed mill?
I think the idea of higher protien and less "stem" that is promoted by the brand name stuff is interesting, but is it totally true and for the average little guy food plotter, does it matter?
What is your opinion, and does the seed source matter?
Brian

Just my opinion.....you pay a premium for hype.....Not one time will you find a third party independent forage analysis done that has a valid comparison of the nutirent levels of these super duper clovers.

Forages vary in protein from week to week, different soil types, and weather conditions in addition to maturity levels of the forage.

Cattlemen who make a living off quality forage and rate of gain would never spend as much time and worry over this decision as a guy with a 70 by a 100 foot spot in the timber.

This year I purchased 50 lbs (full bags) each of Ladino and Dutch White clover at $2.25 and $2.50 per pound. I and some friends will use about 40 lbs and I have the other 60 lbs half sold at $3.50/lb.

I purchased them from a seed house in Iowa, over the phone, via credit card, .... shipping was about 26 cents per pound to my location. I also ordered two bags of inoculant bacteria for the clover, and some soybeans, buckwheat, and sweetcorn.

I guess I've bought the hype. I planted Imperial clover last spring and had very good luck with it with the exception of the portion of my plot that was underwater for a week. It has come back strong now for the second year and I reseeded the portion of my plot that was drowned last spring just a few weeks ago. It has germinated and is coming along nicely.

If I were planting acres I might be concerned about the money, but I invested a ton of time preping my plot so the extra money spent is insurance to me that I will not have "spend my time" repreping and resseding my plot.

I got mine from www.alseed.com they are pretty competitive and have a bunch different varietys of plants and the shipping isnt to bad if you can go by spee dee delivery. anybody else use these guys?

Hey Leexrayshady,

Small world. I think I sold you some seeds on Ebay last year.

if i remember right were they sunflower seeds?

they came up great

Adams, I'm with you. I took the cheap route several years ago based on some of the comments I read on the message boards. I find for the $6-8 more an acre it's a no brainer. The Imperial comes up better, looks better and last on average 1 or 2 years longer. I had 1 buddy last year who bought 100 lbs of certified ladino and grew 10 acres of nothing but turnips. To say he was and is still pissed is an understatement.

ostdc

I still mess with the "Name Brand" stuff - but only for clovers and brassicas. Basically - the co-op doesn't want to hear that you want to buy 5 lbs of "ladino" - its just a pain to them to get you a small qty - to save you $10.00. Pay the $10.00 extra - and get a nice product from a proven "major" company.

That said - If you are planting a 10 acre clover plot - the you should at least consider buying a local - proven clover seed. You can save some money - but the truth is that most of the cost of a GOOD food plot is in the GAS, Time, Fertilizer/Lime and implements to plant it.

With a large plot - it will pay to buy a 50 lb bag of Ladino - But - thats alot of clover - and you'd better be sure you know what your doing - or risk having a total plot failure.

FH

There is really no such thing as local clover seed unless you live in Washington or Oregon state. Almost all US clover seed production is in the Northwest. All the "Name Brand" stuff seed, and the co-op, seed/feed mill seed, all come from the same exact sources. You only pay for fancy packaging, small quanities, and commercials on the hunting channels.

Clover seed production ....

Paying for seed that is pre-inoculated is hype too. Innoculant bacteria has a limited shelf life, and is killed by heat and sunlight. Anyone can purchase a $3.50 bag of white/red/alfalfa inoculant which is enough to coat 60 pounds of clover seed. Even a small ammount of seed can be econmically innoculated fresh at planting time. Without innoculating the seed, your clover may not be afixing it's own Nitrogen from the air .... unless you know for sure the bacteria is already in your field.

http://www.oregonclover.org/seedproduction.html