Clover symbolism
March is the humble clover’s time to shine. Symbolic of luck, the celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day, the welcoming of spring and 4-H enrollment time, clovers are featured prominently in our culture this time of year – and they become prominent in pastures, too.
Much of the agricultural community will recognize a four-leaf clover as the iconic national symbol of 4-H, a youth development program delivered by cooperative extension services from coast to coast that impacts nearly 6 million youth participants in all communities and walks of life. The 4-H pledge recognizes the four leaves of the clover as representation of head, heart, hands and health.
Christian communities often utilize three- and four-leaf clovers as a representation of spirituality. Four-leaf clovers can be used as symbols of faith, hope, love and luck (God’s grace). Saint Patrick is recognized as the first to utilize clovers as a representation of the Holy Trinity.
Even prior to the times of Christian influence, Celtic cultures collected four-leaf clovers as good luck charms to encourage visits from fairies and to ward off illness and evil spirits. The more leaves on the clover, the luckier it would be.
For the pasture manager, having plentiful patches of clover can bring provision in other ways. Whether the typical three-leaved (trifoliate), four-leaved or 50-leaved, clovers provide four prominent benefits to the pasture ecosystem.
- Clovers are legumes and have the ability to form mutually beneficial relationships with soil microbes to fix atmospheric nitrogen into plant-available nitrogen.
- Clovers can actively reduce and prevent soil erosion from wind, water and traffic moving across the soil surface.
- Many species of clover are valuable as livestock feed and can be grazed or mechanically harvested and used as biomass to increase soil organic matter.
- Clovers are attractive nectar sources for many pollinating insects.
Clovers of significance on-farm
Livestock, row-crop and specialty-crop farmers alike can easily incorporate clovers into their systems as harvestable crops, cover crops and/or pollinator habitat. Many growers are familiar with cool-season perennial white clover and red clover, along with annual crimson clover. However, these are only a few of the nearly 300 known global species of clover. Many more clover species are accessible for cultivation and beneficial contributions to farm productivity.
The adaptability and environmental tolerance of growing conditions vary greatly from one clover species to the next. Some species may perform as perennials in one growing zone and annuals in another. Some are biennials that can self-seed and act like perennials or be managed as annuals. Some species are tolerant of drought, and some are tolerant of flood. Some prefer acidic soils, and some prefer neutral. There is a clover out there for just about everyone in the U.S. to consider using on-farm.
Table 1 shows a select list of clovers that have been documented as beneficial in cattle production systems.
The recipe for clover incorporation
In most pasture and hayfield scenarios, it is desirable to have legumes present (often clovers) as 20% to 40% of the stand to boost forage quality and add the benefit of fixed nitrogen. A ratio of fewer legumes than grass will help dilute potential issues related to high consumption of legumes. For legumes to fix nitrogen, the rhizobia conducive to forming the symbiotic relationship must be present in the soil. To ensure that species-specific rhizobia are introduced, purchase rhizobia inoculum with seed if you are planting legumes. Often when weeds are controlled in pastures and hayfields, clovers are damaged in the process. Fortunately, there are many effective methods for overseeding, interseeding and frost seeding legumes back into the stand after herbicide residual has dissipated.
The specific recipe for clover incorporation varies from one farm to the next. For customized advice, consult with your local extension service personnel to develop a plan for seeding that meets the needs of your farm and matches the region in which you reside.
If you already have the ideal ratio of clover to grass in your pastures and hayfields, consider yourself lucky and count your many blessings as you hunt for four-leaved clovers this spring. Whether you have a lucky clover in your pocket or growing in your pasture, I anticipate it will bring good fortune to your farm.
References omitted but are available upon request by sending an email to the editor.
