Growing leafy, quality, late heading italian ryegrass right through the silage and hay season has become been a valuable tool for Western District farmers looking to maximise flexibility and production. Heading dates vary significantly between ryegrasses, and these should be understood to ensure the grasses mix on a farm is most appropriate to its pasture production requirements and soil characteristics. Jonathan Town of Notman Pasture Seeds in Purnim said late, and very late heading ryegrasses provide a significant advantage in late spring quality, especially pertinent in southern dairy regions. “Late heading ryegrasses provide a significant advantage in late spring & early summer quality, as they maintain leafiness for longer, go to seed head later and newer varieties tend be still […]
Category: Pasture Advice
Forage diversity with multi specie blends
Benefits of multi specie pasture swards are not a new occurrence, however there’s renewed interest in what diverse swards can offer modern production systems. Well-designed multi species pastures will have a diversity that can increase overall yield, diet composition and reduces the risks of a range of environmental challenges. On the flip side there are things to be aware of when grazing alternative crops such as optimising establishment, limited weed control and animal health issues such as high levels of nitrate in brassicas. Peter Notman, dairy farmer and forage specialist at Notman Pasture Seeds in Poowong says some producers add different varieties of seed to their standard winter and summer pasture stands to provide more forage diversity and drought hardiness. […]
Knocking down pasture broadleaf weeds
Key time for knocking out weeds Maximising the performance of our home grown pastures and doing the small things right canlead to dry matter gains, improved production and better value for every dollar spent, soNotman Pasture Seeds have prepared some simple tips to get the most out of your pastures inlate autumn and early spring. Peter Notman of Notman Pasture Seeds said seedling weeds vigorously compete for nutrients,moisture, light and most importantly, space. “Early removal of these weeds allows for more rapid and even establishment resulting in anincreased amount of dry matter for your stock” Mr Notman said. “Poor establishment of newly sown pasture results in a decrease in pasture productivity and anincrease in chemical costs from the extra weed control […]
Diagnosis of pasture damage by symptoms
Diagnosis of pasture damage by symptoms, including damage from blackheaded cockchafers, redlegged earthmite, lucerne flea and armyworm
Pugged pasture re-sowing options
After several dry years, some farmers’ paddocks across southern Victoria have become saturated to a point that it has led to severe pasture damage and recovery will depend on a number of factors when planning what strategies you may wish to take. Pugged pasture re-sowing options Spring re-sowing can be successful when action is taken quickly. We have observed a large amount of successful spring sowing during our 30 years in the field when there is good planning, timing, seed soil contact and fertility. The spring pasture re-sowing window is short, so as soon as soils are dry enough to get machinery the re-sowing should be implemented as fast as practical. All spring-sown pasture or crop should be fertilised with […]
Choosing a Perennial Ryegrass
Choosing the right perennial ryegrass is crucial for optimizing pasture performance and livestock productivity. Factors such as ploidy, endophyte type, and seasonal growth patterns impact persistence, yield, and feed quality. Understanding these characteristics ensures a well-suited ryegrass variety for specific farm conditions, maximising pasture resilience and animal performance.
Growing demand for Bullet ryegrass for fast winter-feed
With a particularly dry summer and autumn for farming in Southern Victoria creating a reduction in feed options over the coming months, farmers have increasingly been looking at cheaper and quicker home grown feed options. In many cases, it has become evident heavily grazed paddocks haven’t bounced back so there has been a focus on boosting home grown feed supplies before soil temperatures cool down and growth rates slow. The introduction of fast growing annual ryegrasses is a key component of many pasture programs especially whenever there is a need to bump-up production levels to crease extra supplies. Key features are their speed of establishment, high growth rates over autumn, winter and late into spring, coupled with high pasture quality […]
Grass Endophyte Explained
Endophyte in grass play an important role in resisting insect attack in pasture but there is a price to pay in ryegrass staggers and reduced animal performance. Seed breeders develop “novel endophytes” that protect the grass against a greater range of insect pests, with no negative impacts on ruminant health or performance. Grass plants may contain an internally growing fungus called endophyte. Different strains of endophyte are available in many of the grass cultivars. Standard Endophyte An option where price is crucial and high animal production is not a major issue. Stock grazing these pastures can often suffer from ryegrass staggers and experience reduced weight gains throughout the warmer months. The Standard strain (SE) implies that the cultivar contains a wild […]
Research and development at Notman Pasture Seeds
Many pasture and forage varieties available from Notman Pasture Seeds are thoroughly trialled and tested on farms throughout Australia & New Zealand to assess their performance capability under varying farming conditions. Notman Pasture Seeds continue to work with our main suppliers to trials and demonstrate new & existing forage products. Forage varieties are evaluated in these trials for a number of performance- related criteria, including dry matter yield and seasonal performance, pasture quality (including metabolisable energy, digestibility, protein, NDF, etc), persistence, and susceptibility to plant diseases and insect pests.Where necessary, the company undertakes animal performance trials to assess the impact of its varieties on livestock performance and health. All trials are conducted to strict industry-designed protocols, and managed by the […]
Italian ryegrass delivers Surge in production
WHEN MATT Loader started doing second cuts for silage he knew he was onto something good. Four years ago he started using Surge – a high yielding diploid Italian ryegrass – on out blocks and parts of his main milking area at Krowera in south Gippsland to improve the quality of the silage. “Since then I’ve done a second cut every year for the last four years on the out blocks,” Mr Loader said. “The quality is always good. It just grows, even on one of my blocks that’s quite steep. I’ve put it on all the ridge paddocks and even in a hot summer it still keeps on growing.” The success rate continues to get better. “Last year I cut it three times, that was the first time I’ve done that. It […]