Immersing Australian farmers and the community in Australian agriculture using Virtual Field Days & Trials
Pastures
The adoption of new pasture legume varieties in mixed farms in low to medium rainfall regions (250-400 mm) is currently low. While annual medic and vetch remain the dominant crop choices, there are several new pasture varieties that show potential in these environments. Some of these pasture legumes have come from the Western Australian breeding program, but they have not been extensively evaluated in the Mallee region.
This project builds upon previous research that identified and developed a variety of hard-seeded pasture legumes. One significant barrier to the adoption of new pasture legumes is the high cost of pasture seeds and the difficulty in establishing them. However, some of the novel legume pastures have an aerial seeded habit and can retain seeds, allowing growers to harvest and re-sow them using standard cropping equipment. On-farm trials have been set up to evaluate cost-reducing management practices and demonstrate the benefits of these species to crop and livestock systems on mixed farms in the low to medium rainfall regions.
Michael Moodie and Roy Latta discuss French Serradella on Mallee sols
Part 1: Boosting profit and reducing risk on mixed farms in low and medium rainfall areas with newly discovered legume pastures enabled by innovative management methods.
Part 2: Boosting profit and reducing risk on mixed farms in low and medium rainfall areas with newly discovered legume pastures enabled by innovative management methods.
Background The uptake of new pasture legume varieties in the Victorian Mallee is currently low. Annual medic and vetch remain the dominant crop choices however, there are a range of new pasture varieties which have potential in low to medium rainfall environments. A number of these pasture legumes come from the Western Australian breeding program…
Background Local research projects have found that French Serradella has the potential to provide a fodder option on Mallee sandy soils where lupins are normally grown. The potential benefits that serradella in the Mallee include:• Adaptation to deep infertile, coarse textured soils• Deep rooting and produces an extended green feed period compared to most annual…
