Crimson clover grows rapidly in fall and spring and furnishes an abundance of grazing (fig. 3). If planted early and good fall growth is made, the clover may also be grazed during the fall and winter months. Such a practice has been successfully followed in many States where crimson clover is providing winter pasture. Crimson clover combined with small grains or ryegrass has been most widely used for winter grazing. Crimson clover makes little growth during cold periods in winter. Under such conditions, to prevent close grazing, it is necessary to remove the animals or shift them to other fields that have not been grazed.

Animals grazing on crimson clover seldom bloat; however, it is advisable not to turn them into clover fields for the first time when they are hungry. Bloat is less likely to occur on a mixture of clover and grass or grain then when the clover alone is grazed. As crimson clover reaches maturity the hairs of the heads and stems become hard and tough. When it is grazed continuously or when it is fed as hay at this stage large masses of the hairs are liable to form into hair balls in stomachs of horses and mules, occasionally with fatal results. If small quantities of other feeds, particularly roughages, are fed along with the clover, the formation of these balls will be reduced. Cattle, sheep, and swine do not seem to be affected.

Crimson clover makes excellent hay when cut at the early-bloom stage, although the yield may be slightly reduced. For best yields it should be harvested in full bloom. The hay is easily cured either in the swath or in the windrow. Fewer leaves are lost and less bleaching occurs in windrowed hay. Although yields as high as 2½ tons per acre are not uncommon on fertile soil, 1½ to 2 tons is the usual harvest.

Crimson clover is an ideal green-manure crop. For best results it should be plowed under 2 to 3 weeks before the succeeding crop is planted. This gives enough time for decomposition, which is rapid unless the crop is ripe when turned under. Occasionally strips are plowed in which row crops are to be planted, allowing the clover between the plowed strips to mature. Seed may be harvested by hand from the clover between the row crops, and the remaining clover straw allowed to mat and serve as a mulch, or the entire plant may be permitted to form a mulch.

Crimson clover may be made into silage by the same methods as are used for other legumes and grasses. In orchards it is often allowed to mature, after which it is disked into the soil. A volunteer stand from shattered seed may be obtained in fall by using the Dixie variety.