Red clover can produce yields of high quality forage comparable to alfalfa in favorable environments. About 5 to 7 inches of water is required for well-managed stands to produce one ton of dry. This amount of water must be in the root zone. When these fertilizer elements are low or the soils are excessively acid, clover stands are unproductive and unreliable. Infertile soils can be built up economically to acceptable levels during 3-5 years with annual surface applications of lime, phosphorus, and potassium.
Irrigation can reduce some of the boom and bust cycles, typical of many clovers.
Few herbicides are needed in well-managed red clover pastures. Good soil fertility, along with competitive legume and grass species, grazed or hayed in a timely fashion, reduce the need for special weed control practices. While there is no ideal harvesting height, light grazing should begin when plants are 10-12 inches tall. Red clover should not be cut or grazed shorter than 3 or 4 inches. Continuous stocking of red clover can be profitable, but requires frequent adjustments in number of animals per acre.