Clover costs

[Pic at the casa]

I'm a QDM virgin so forgive my many upcoming questions.

Why is clover so much more expensive than let's say buckwheat? Is it hard to grow/seed out? Or is it because they producers have a huge mark up due to such a small market? Just curious.

 

[woodchuckc]

Clover is certainly more expensive on a per pound basis, but not so much so on a seeding rate basis. For example, for buckwheat you need to seed at around a 25-50 pound per acre rate depending on your ground prep and how you seed to get a good stand, versus a 2-3 of pounds of clover per acre. Also, "generic" red or white clover that is not pre-inoculated is much cheaper compared to the newer clover strains that are also pre-inoculated. Yields are much better with inoculated seed (the inoculant is a bacteria that help the clover to fix nitrogen), but I just buy the inoculant packets and inoculate the seed myself and it is much cheaper to do it that way.

 

[pic]

Thanks woodchuckc- I had talked to some folks about inoculant additives vs pre-inoc's.