When the second season growth is cut in the spring, new growth does not come from the crown, as in alfalfa, but from the dormant buds on the lower portion of the stems. The plants will die if they are cut too low. Too-late cutting is also detrimental to early summer production. Usually the second season spring growth is exceptionally heavy, and stocking rates need to be high so that new shoots are initiated and blooming is delayed. Once blooming occurs, the plant sets seed and dies.
Sweet clover contains a high level of coumarin.
When mold occurs during hay or silage making, this can be converted to dicumarol, an anticoagulant that can cause internal bleeding of animals consuming the forage. If you are feeding sweet clover hay and suspect that it might contain dicumarol, lessen the danger by feeding the sweet clover hay for about two weeks, then follow it with another type of hay for three weeks. Uses and management Sweet clover may be used for hay or pasture or as a plow-down crop. The amount of grazing it will furnish in its seeding year depends upon its companion crop. If seeded with a small grain that is harvested for grain, little forage production can be expected.