Ewe and lamb growth from adjacent monocultures of grass and clover

Sheep prefer a diet of about 70% clover and 30% grass (Marotti et al. 2002), and clover promotes higher intakes and levels of animal performance (Gibb and Treacher 1984). However, clover often comprises less than 20% of total pasture yield in mixed pastures in southwest Victoria (Quigley et al. 1992). Offering adjacent monocultures of grass and clover in the same paddock may be a simple means for sustaining desirable components in the pasture and diet, and thereby increasing animal performance.