Trifolium pratense is grown throughout temperate regions of Asia, Europe, the Americas, New Zealand, and Australia, with high production occurring in France and Sweden (Preedy et al. 2011) and is the most important legume hay crop in the northeastern United States (St. John & Ogle 2008).

Trifolium pratense is one of the most widely grown legume species for use as animal forage in hay, pasture, and silage (Taylor & Quesenberry 1996; St. John 2008; St. John & Ogle 2008; Jing et al. 2021; Ozyazici et al. 2021; Petrauskas & Norkevičienė 2023). It has been used in Europe since the third century and provides high forage nutritional values (Taylor & Quesenberry 1996; Pustai et al. 2016). Trifolium pratense is often grown with cool-season forage grasses to provide nitrogen and a high-yielding forage rich in protein, as well as reduce the risk of bloating (St. John 2008; St. John & Ogle 2008; Ozyazici et al. 2021). Common grasses it is grown with include Agropyron Gaertn. species, Bromus L. species (brome grasses), Dactylis glomerata L. (orchardgrass), Festuca arundinacea Schreb. (tall fescue), Festuca pratensis Huds. (meadow fescue), Paspalum dilatatum Poir. (dallisgrass), Phleum pratense L. (timothy), and Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. (johnsongrass) (St. John 2008; St. John & Ogle 2008; Ozyazici et al. 2021). It can interfere with reproduction in sheep due to high estrogen levels (Ozyazici et al. 2021).

Wildlife species eat the plants in early spring, and Bombus Lat. species (bumblebees) and Apis L. species (honeybees) visit the flowers for their nectar; however, honeybees prefer other clovers if they are available (St. John 2008). Still, it is frequently used for honey production (Jing et al. 2021; Petrauskas & Norkevičienė 2023).

Trifolium pratense is also an excellent intercrop, crop rotation, cover crop, and green manure species for sustainable farming because of its symbiosis with root-nodule bacteria that allows it to fix atmospheric nitrogen and accumulate it in the soil (St. John 2008; St. John & Ogle 2008; SARE 2007; Brust 2019; Ozyazici et al. 2021; Petrauskas & Norkevičienė 2023). SARE (2007) reports that it is often used as a living mulch or in crop rotation with small grains, grass forages, vegetable crops, Glycine max (L.) Merr. (soybean), Melilotus L. species (sweet-clover), and Zea mays L. subsp. mays (corn). Used as a green manure over winter, it can produce 2 to 4 tons of dry matter and fix 32 to 68 kg of nitrogen per acre. Studies found that a rotation with Zea mays L. subsp. mays (corn) and Avena sativa L. (oats) planted with Trifolium pratense was as profitable as growing continuous Zea mays L. subsp. mays (corn) with 72.5 kg of synthetic nitrogen application per acre, showing significant potential to reduce fertilizer use. In winter Triticum aestivum L. (wheat) crops it helped suppress Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. (common ragweed). It also attracts beneficial insects and makes a great soil conditioner.

The young leaves collected before flowering are a popular wild edible eaten raw or cooked; later, the flowers are added to salads, and the flower and seed heads can be dried and used as a flour substitute (North Carolina Extension n.d.; personal observations).

Trifolium pratense has a long history of use as a folk medicine for athlete’s foot, constipation, ulcers, corms, and menopause, but should not be consumed if pregnant or nursing (North Carolina Extension n.d.).

Trifolium pratense’s competitiveness against weeds is weak in the seedling stage (Ozyazici et al. 2021). However, once established, it is much more competitive, although Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. (Canada thistle), Sonchus arvensis L. (perennial sow thistle), Elymus repens (L.) Gould subsp. repens (quackgrass), and Linaria dalmatica (L.) Mill. (toadflax) should be controlled (Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development 2015). Furthermore, some winter annual and annual broadleaf weeds are also problematic in red clover because a limited number of herbicides can be used for control in red clover stands (OMAFRA 2021). Still, Trifolium pratense is mostly prone to fungal diseases, causing root rots and foliar diseases like powdery mildew, often killing it in its second or third year (SARE 2007; St John 2008). Numerous insect pests are also problematic (Pustai et al. 2016).