# Best plants for cows and bees



## LSPender (Nov 16, 2004)

Dutch clover , also known as strawberry clover


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

legumes will cause bloat in the cattle, not sure if your land owners would be fancy to alfalfa,


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

Sanfoin is a bloat free legume that the bees love and I think will bloom the first year. Good ole yellow and white sweet clover is a biennial but it reseeds and the grazed off plant will rebloom rapidly from the base and should definatelybe part of your plan. The yellow blooms first and the white is a little later.


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## kbee (Mar 6, 2005)

I seem to remember sweet clover causes bleeding in cows if eaten in quantity. Not sure if its yellow or white but the drug coumadin (blood thinner) was developed from it. You should research it a little before planting


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

we are only concerned with that if the clover had been put up as hay, moldy


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## Sharpbees (Jun 26, 2012)

Sweet clover that has molded works as an anticoagulant if eaten by cows and can kill them. Cattle don't care for it because the plant contains coumarin which causes the plant to taste bitter to them. Bloat can be a problem when they graze on immature sweet clover but not as bad as when they graze alfalfa.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

common vetch is another legume that does not cause bloating.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I seem to remember sweet clover causes bleeding in cows if eaten in quantity.

Only if it is cut and then gets wet and molds. A mixture is best. Grass, birdsfoot trefoil, alfalfa, chicory, white sweet clover, yellow sweet clover, ladino clover, asters, goldenrod, white dutch clover and crimson clover would be my first choices.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Check with a local seed dealer about sainfoin. Vance's suggestion is a good one.


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## ol'bow (Sep 13, 2012)

Consider checking with county extension agent. Usually very resourceful and familiar with other aspects of agriculture. State veterinarian should be able to give you a list of plants that could be toxic to cattle.


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## eric5899 (Sep 27, 2013)

Grassfed beef farmer and beekeeper here - I've tried quite a bit on the farm. Red clover is great for the livestock, great for the bumblebees, only okay for the honey bees because the nectar is deep in the flower. White dutch clover (the type that pops up in your yard) is great for honeybees and cattle but doesn't provide a lot of volume of feed for the cattle. Alfalfa is great for cattle but I don't see the honeybees on it heavily. I really like birdsfoot trefoil both as a livestock crop and a bee crop. It's the only one of these legumes that will not cause bloat in cattle if eaten in large quantities. As long as there is a mix with grass, I've never had a bloat problem even in areas with lots of clover.


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Can't go wrong with sainfoin.

Eric. I always see bees on alfalfa when its allowed to bloom.


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## SeaCucumber (Jun 5, 2014)

I read that pollarded black locust trees provide something like 27% protein (more than alfalfa) for cattle. I wonder if that would work for coppiced trees.


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