On behalf of the Green Valleys project and the Naturbruksförvaltningen in the Västra Götaland region, the company Calluna has conducted a study investigating the effect of skipping a harvest in July on hay meadows. The study presents remarkable results. Conducted between 2023 and 2025, it has shown that this relatively simple measure can lead to a significant increase in the flowering of red clover and lady’s mantle, as well as a sixfold increase in the number of flower-visiting insects.
The aim of the project was to study the extent to which a relatively simple measure, skipping the second harvest (in July) on parts of the field, can have an effect on flowering and flower-visiting insects.
The study was conducted at the Sötåsen Agricultural College in Töreboda municipality as part of the Interreg project Green Valleys 2.0.
The study’s hay meadows were inventoried each year over a three-year period with regard to species number and quantity of flowering plants and flower-visiting insects (with a focus on butterflies, bumblebees and solitary bees).
‘The results of our study are inspiring and show how small changes in harvesting strategy can have a major impact on both flowering and insect visits,’ says Olle Kvarnbäck, project manager for the study and environmental consultant at Calluna.
Photo: Calluna
Final report of an assignment by the Naturbruksförvaltningen, Västra Götaland Region (VGR) within the Interreg project Green Valleys 2.0 2023–2025.
