Tag: Agronomy

Woody Weed Management: Late spring and summer control

Farmers are well aware that woody weeds can significantly impact the productivity and persistence of pastures long term if infested with woody weeds. Late spring and early summer presents an opportunity to tackle these weeds. Why? Timing Product such as Triclopyr Picloram, Clopyralid, Metsulfuron, MCPA750 offer effective solution for managing invasive species, providing targeted long-lasting results when used correctly. Below is a guide to understanding its features, application methods, and considerations for optimal control of spring woody weeds. Triclopyr Picloram Clopyralid Metsulfuron-Methyl MCPA750 Drift Management Post Spray Management Allow weeds to remain undisturbed for optimal results. Avoid grazing, cutting for as long as possible to ensure the chemical is fully distributed and provides complete control. Conclusion Choosing the right herbicide […]

Protect hay and silage: Armyworm awareness

Armyworms are a recurring threat to hay and silage crops in southern Victoria, with potential to cause significant crop damage if left unchecked.

How Ryegrass Staggers May Affect Animals

Ryegrass staggers affects livestock by causing tremors, poor coordination, and production losses due to toxic endophytes like Lolitrem-B. Even sub-clinical effects can reduce weight gain and milk yield. Learn how endophytes impact animal health and how to minimise risks.

Accelerate Gibberellic Acid – Frequently Asked Question

ACCELERATE – INCREASING WINTER GROWTH Accelerate Growth Regulant is a naturally occurring plant hormone that has been maximising pasture growth during the cooler months to deliver quality feed quantity during periods of reduced winter pasture production. By increasing the natural level of gibberellins contained in plants, Accelerate stimulates growth though cell expansion resulting in stem and lead elongation. Applications deliver accelerated growth creating significant gains in dry matter yield for up to 3 to 4 weeks provided adequate moisture and nutrition is available. BENEFITS OF ACCELERATE When should I first apply Accelerate?Gibberellic Acid will provide a benefit when the pasture production appears to be slowing due to falling temperatures. This can be as early as late April. Timing will depend on our […]

Forage Cereals – learn more on Oats, Triticale, Ryecorn and Barley

Forage cereals include varieties of oats, barley, triticale and ryecorn are a very reliable option for prolific winter and spring forage.  Growth rates can vary based on the species, but generally cereals offer flexibility to any farming operation through sowing, grazing and silage or hay. Forage oats are a economic, flexible and easy to establish annual cultivar that are suited to grazing, hay, silage, pasture renovation. Popular varieties include: Cooee OatsSaia OatsWintaroo & more Forage Barley provides excellent forage for grazing, hay or silage with good feed quality. Barley has fast establishment and winter production. It is best suited to late planting situations where its quick early growth under cold conditions is an advantage over other forage cereals. MagnateDictator II Forage Triticale combines the quality […]

Cricket Bait for Victorian farmers

Cricket Bait is an insecticide treated grain product for the control of black field crickets in pasture. Black field crickets pose a insect pest threat to newly sown and established grass pastures over the late summer and autumn period. Cricket Bait is highly palatable and has a rapid knockdown effect on the target pest. Pasture Losses A field population of 20 crickets/m2 could cause a pasture loss of 1600 kg DM/ha in 98 days. The actual loss in anyone season could, however, be as low as 860 kg DM/ha or as high as 2450 kg DM/ha depending on availability of feed (Blank, 1985). Severely defoliated ryegrass plants will be slow and many plant can die. Cricket-damaged pasture that do recover […]

Pioneer brand inoculants – why pay more?

Are premium silage inoculants worth the investment? Explore the science behind Pioneer brand inoculants and how they maximize feed quality, stability, and animal performance.

Ryegrass staggers? Our top management tips

Throughout south east Australia, perennial ryegrass has stood as a vital component of pasture systems, offering a rich source of high-quality feed through Autumn to early Summer. However, its symbiotic relationship with endophytes can lead to a condition known as perennial ryegrass staggers or toxicity in grazing animals. This presents a significant challenge for farmers, particularly during late summer and autumn when the risk of staggers peaks. Fortunately, advancements in endophyte research has yielded some promising solutions to reduce lower levels of alkaloids and thus reduce the likelihood of ryegrass staggers. Endophyte technology has advanced significantly since the 1980s with plant breeders such as Cropmark Seeds and DLF Seeds continuing to help develop novel endophytes that provide long-term pasture persistence […]

Spring sown pasture tips

Enhancing your perennial pastures with spring oversowing in September and October whilst sufficient soil moisture is available for emerging seedlings is a common practice for south east Australian farmers looking to drive more production. Here Notman Pasture Seeds explores the advantages, disadvantages and in-depth suggestions on optimising spring sown pasture. Spring sowing advantages Spring sowing disadvantages Enhance harvest density and quality Improve silage and hay DM yields with spring sown italian ryegrasses such as Surge Italian Ryegrass. Over sowing with fast establishing italian ryegrasses provides exceptional yield, and luscious leaf growth. Surge is ideal in this scenario this September as it will improve pasture density when it comes time to harvest for silage & hay. And with soil temperatures & daylight […]

Combating winter grass in perennial pastures

As we move into late autumn and early winter, a range of winter grasses and broadleafed weeds begin to germinate in our pastures. Light green in colour with tufted growth habit and seeding from late winter throughout spring and early summer, Poa Annual matures quickly and seeds profusely making them an agressive weed difficult to control. Grazing or mowing is ultimately ineffective in their control as they begin to choke up your pastures. Preventing winter grass establishment is a key component in maximising the performance or your pastures. As you can see by the images below: WINTER GRASSES TRIAL Using Scanner 500 herbicide, Notman Pasture Seeds trialed its effectiveness on winter grasses last season here at Larnder. As you can see there […]

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