Is red clover an inferior forage for lactating dairy cows?
No. In experiments red clover has supported very good levels of milk production, but research indicates that different diet formulation strategies may be needed when red clover forages are fed. For example, red clover has more bypass protein than alfalfa but in an experiment cows fed red clover and supplemented with a bypass protein supplement (fish meal) still had improved milk yields. In another experiment, cows fed red clover based diets containing 20.0 % crude protein produced more milk than cows fed red clover based diets containing 17.5 % protein. So, despite laboratory evidence suggesting red clover may be a better protein source than alfalfa, cows fed red clover seem to respond with improved milk production to additional protein supplementation. In other experiments, feeding combinations of red clover/corn silage or red clover/brown midrib corn silage resulted in improvements in feed intake and milk production indicating that red clover/corn silage mixtures are well suited in a
