Trials put pasture options to the test 

Researchers, industry leaders and producers joined together to learn from local pasture trials and demonstrations in recent weeks:

The University of Adelaide Trial Site
BIGG facilitated a visit to The University of Adelaide’s trial site at Mt Crawford on October 18. Researchers Hannah Griffiths and Tshewang Dorji discussed the performance of serradellas compared to clover and medics on sandy soil.

Learn more, including results here.

Coopers Farm Supplies Pasture Demo
Also on October 18, Coopers Farm Supplies held their Pasture Demo Walk at Mount Pleasant showcasing a range of annual, perennial, and multi-species pasture options. Led by Coopers agronomist Adam Krahnert with support from Barenbrug's Aston Barr, the Demo Walk was a real credit to Adam and the Coopers team.

BIGG Pasture Walk 
Supported by SA Drought Hub, BIGG's annual Pasture Walk was held on October 24. Starting at the Pasture Trial Network (PTN) ryegrass trail site (Gomersal) attendees viewed commercially available and experimental annual and Italian ryegrass lines.

PTN conducts independent research on grazing forage varieties across temperate Australia with this trial being its first in SA since 2016. Managed by Craig Davis (Crop Consulting Services) and Tim Prance (T Prance Rural Consulting), the trial was dry sown in May, with dry matter production being measured in August, September, and October. Production differences between lines have been noted, with the average growth rate across the site being 19 kg DM/ha/day (for the August to October period).

Full trial results are to be published on the PTN website in February 2025. In the meantime, check out PTN's MLA PTN eTool; a valuable decision-making tool for producers comparing performance of pasture varieties. 

Next stop was Kurt Schmaal's Gomersal paddock sown to a forage brassica (Subzero) to finish his x-bred lambs. Kurt first grew the variety in October 2022 and was impressed by its ability to provide feed over summer and into the following autumn.

This paddock was sown in June at 3kg/ha, with his lamb ‘tops’ first grazing the paddock from early September. These lambs were recently sold, dressing out at an impressive 25kg. The paddock currently has about 1.0t DM/ha on offer and is being grazed by his lamb ‘seconds’. Attendees also had an engaging discussion about the grazing management of brassicas.

Final stop was to BIGG’s new multi-species perennial pastures trial site at Marananga. The long-term trial, conducted in association with SARDI, is funded by the Federal Government's Future Drought Fund and aims to determine the productivity of five perennial based multi-species treatments. The treatments range from a simple ‘2 species’ mix (comprising lucerne and phalaris) to a highly diverse ’12 species’ mix (comprising various legumes, grasses, herbs and a brassica).

The trial was sown in early August and over the next few years will be assessed for dry matter production, pasture quality, species composition and groundcover. The first dry matter cut was undertaken on October 10, with the ’12 species’ mix yielding the highest production (likely due to the tillage radish and winter grass species components). After each dry matter cut, the trial is planned to be ‘crash grazed’ to simulate grazing best practice.