Introducing (another) Cows and Effect. Episode 1. Five billion, there's no snakes in Ireland and an upside down graph.

A blatant misuse of the Pasture Pod platform means I'm plugging this Cows and Effect project again.

Episode 1 dives into the science with an Irish research paper that looks at the yields of multi species pastures (along with the various different plant species that go into them) at several levels of Nitrogen (including zero). Which grasses work best in different systems? Why bother with Plantain and Chicory? Which plants drive yield? 

There's some chat about ewes and Red Clover and there's a smell under the table.

Link to the main paper Moloney et al, 2020.  http://archive.sciendo.com/IJAFR/ijafr.2020.59.issue-1/ijafr-2020-0002/ijafr-2020-0002.pdf

Links to the other two Moloney papers in the trilogy. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27041764?seq=1 and https://www.jstor.org/stable/27041763

Link to the Egan et al 2025 paper on plantain hoovering up nitrate in the soil. This may be partially behind a paywall, but the key bits are available.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880924004948

Link to Mustonen et al 2014 which is the study on the effects of feeding red clover silage to ewes https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175173111400161X?via%3Dihub

Link to the Innovative Farmers trial on ewes and red clover. https://www.innovativefarmers.org/media/l00oqr1t/mating-sheep-on-red-clover-final-report.pdf

Link to an early UK study into red clover and ewe fertility; Newton and Betts 1973. Still behind a pay wall, but you can see the abstract without paying.   https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-agricultural-science/article/abs/effects-of-red-clover-trifolium-pratense-var-redhead-white-clover-trifolium-repens-var-s-100-or-perennial-ryegrass-lolium-perenne-var-s-23-on-the-reproductive-performance-of-sheep/DBE300E13E0D8D81BF0B6D00ED9B3E90

Link to a review paper/report not mentioned in the podcast which is Marley et al 2011. This is an IBERS report. https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Research%20Papers/Beef%20&%20Lamb/effects_of_legumes_on_ewe_and_cow_fertility_review_-_final_report_20jul11.pdf