Crops, Pasture and Fodder
Articles, case studies and trial results relating to Grain and Graze 2's Crops, Pasture and Fodder projects can be found through the following links
Crops, pasture and fodder
Annual medic pastures at MAC 2009
Role of medics as break crop in annual mixed farming system and impact on following crop. Opportunities for improving crop production using pastures.
Alternatives to owning livestock for cropping businesses
Outlines alternatives to owning livestock for cropping businesses. case studies include profit sharing, share farming, livestock leasing and ajistment.
South
Trade off : when to terminate medic pastures in the Mallee 2012
Trade off between medic pasture growth and yield of a following cereal crop, with different medic pasture termination timings.
Pasture termination 2013
Trade off between medic pasture growth and yield of a following cereal crop, with different medic pasture termination timings.
Sowing in February: Crazy or Clever?
Very early sowing of winter wheat for grazing and yield potential.
Need early winter sheep feed ? Cereal pasture evaluation 2012
Growing season lengths did not necessarily influence variety feed value; both early and late maturing varieties performed equally well in the 2012 dry season. Hindmarsh barley was one of the best varieties: it consistently produced valuable feed at both sites and had highest grain yield at Birchip (ungrazed 3.1t/ha).
Canola mowing demonstration at Telford
Simulated grazing (mowing) reduced canola grain yield by 17%.
Grass weed management in pasture
Assessment of barley grass weed management with a two year medic pasture break. Impact on medic DM production, N, disease.
Demonstrating Pasture Zoning in the Upper North
Aim of the farm demonstration is to increase production and sustainability and reduce costs by identifying production zones across a property and managing these zones differently.
Powdery mildew resistant medics for the EP and Mallee
Improved lines of medics with powdery mildew resistance and SU tolerance. Improved pasture production.
Improving medic pastures in low rainfall mixed farming systems - how to get the most free N
Trying to improve performance of medic pastures in establishment (inoculation, sown vs regen) and management phases (+/- grazing). Improving pastures and subsequent crops.
Enriching upper Eyre Peninsula forage options
Assessing perennial shrubs for grazing on upper EP in the Enrich program. Improving feedbase options.
Forage crops for grazing at MAC 2010
Assessing multipurpose 'break crops' (cereals, broadleaves, forage peas, vetch) on upper EP.Opportunities for improving pasture and subsequent crops.
Evaluation of perennial forage legumes on Eyre
Identifying alternative forage legumes for EP environment such as lucerne, cullen, tedera and sulla.
Profitable crop sequences on upper Eyre Peninsula – the final year
The domination of cereals is increasing the need for non-cereal options to provide profitable rotational crops, disease breaks and weed control opportunities to sustain cereal production.
Profitable crop sequences in the low rainfall region of upper Eyre Peninsula 2015
Sulla establishment and production demonstration at Minnipa Ag Centre. Rhizoctonia levels rose unexpectedly under sulla. Non G&G product.
Profitable crop sequences in the low rainfall region of upper Eyre Peninsula
Wheat yields after a two year break were a significant step up from wheat crops following a one year break, which were in turn, much better than the continuous wheat. Large break crop benefits of 0.5-1.25 t/ha were achieved following a two year non-cereal break
Effects on whole farm water use efficiency of lucerne crop transitions
Simulation study aimed at better understanding the mixed farming systems that include short-term (3-year) phases of lucerne.
Fertility of Herbivores Consuming Phytoestrogen-Containing Medicago and Trifolium Species
Despite their unrivalled value in livestock systems, certain temperate, pasture, legume species and varieties may contain phytoestrogens which can lower flock/herd fertility.
The Trouble with sub
Opportunities to improve pasture production through capability development in soil nutrition. Describes work looking at the reduced nodulation in sub clover due to increased soil acidity and lack of key rhizobial nutrition.
Sheep Grazing on Crop Residues
Highlights opportunities for improved nitrogen mineralisation for cropping through incorporation of livestock. Identifies and quantifies the role of sheep grazing of stubbles in the breakdown of stubble and nitrogen mineralisation.
Benefiting from Optimum grazing management
Highlights opportunities to improve pasture utilisation and increase stocking rates. Summarises research on rotational grazing and paddock subdivision.
Highlights opportunities to improve productivity through capability development in pasture management. Includes a survey of pasture establishment practices across the mixed farming region of southern NSW.
Assessing the adaption of long season wheats in SA
The current practice of sowing well adapted varieites at their optimum time is well suited to SA. However there may be opportunities to utlilise longer season varieties in some environments or where large seesing program prevent sowing all varieites in their optimum time is well suited to South Australia.
Wheat time of sowing and grazing
Well adapted winter wheats and longer growing season spring wheats have a role to play when sowing very early.
New pasture varieties - Sulla management
Overview of the impacts of managing Sulla and herbide impacts
Sulla viability as a forage legume
This paper explores the viability of the forage legume Sulla as a viable two-year break crop in the Southern region
Identifying the causes of unreliable N fixation by medic based pastures
Assessing the impact of nutrition, herbicides, adjuvants and rhizobial inoculants on N fixation by medics.
Monitoring of no till cropping against grazing in winter and summer
A collated 11 year history of a paddock comparison between no till and various grazing and stubble burning regimes.
Break crop market research for the high rainfall zone
Market research condcuted in 2010 to understand the motivations, attitudes and issues for growers and advisors using fodder (legume) break crops
The value of hard seeded legumes for forage and competition with annual ryegrass
Opportunities for hard seeded legume pastures.
Livestock
View research results as published in the Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summaries, an annual publication produced by the Minnipa Agricultural Centre.
Farmer Insights
Farming Systems Trial 2011
Compare the yields of crops grown under four different farming systems common to the Southern Mallee. Standard and Fuel Burners outyielded No Till, followed by Reduced Till, followed by Hungry Sheep.
