The late October rains have really demonstrated the benefit of having a range of pasture options on your farm. 

Traditionally the bulk of spring feed has been from annual ley pasture systems with growers relying on stubbles to provide feed over the summer.  This year however, dry matter production on these systems was poor.  Many of the annual pastures had died off prior to October rains and stubble levels will be lower than average. 

A number of demonstration sites have shown that having a balance of annual and alternative pasture options in years like this may be the key to filling feed gaps on farm.   Alternative pastures such as lucerne, Italian ryegrass, cereals sown for grazing, and phalaris responded well to the late season rain and have provided feed for growers waiting for crop stubbles to become available. 

Farmers with lucerne are revelling in a year like this with lucerne pastures responding significantly to the late rains.  Given summer rainfall events lucerne pastures will continue to grow actively through to late autumn. 

Italian ryegrass sown in autumn can be a highly productive winter and spring feed, particularly on heavier soils subject to waterlogging, without the risk of toxicity that can be a problem in some annual ryegrass cultivars.   Although not performing particularly well this winter, (particularly in drier areas) Italian ryegrass pastures bounced back following rains to provide some valuable feed. 

An Italian ryegrass demonstration site at Sheringa, which had produced well all year but looked to have finished growing by mid October, recovered with October rains and provided enough feed to run 13 dse/ha for 16 days in early November. 

Paddocks sown to a cereal for grazing can also be a highly productive low cost pasture. Their versatility means they can become an opportunity grain crop or hay cut depending on the season, or can be grazed as a standing crop before stubbles are ready.

A demonstration site sown to oats at Lipson was used to grow out prime lambs whilst annual pastures had comparatively little feed.  This paddock responded well to October rains providing further feed and surface cover. 

Growers are encouraged to consider the balance of pastures in your system and the options available for filling the feed gap. 

For further information on pasture options for the Lower Eyre Peninsula please contact Rural Solutions SA Land management consultants on 08 86883400A

AUTHOR: Brett Masters, Soil & Land Management Consultant, Rural Solutions SA

CONTACT: Brett Masters, Rural Solutions SA Pt Lincoln Office, Telephone 08 8688 3460, Mobile, 0428 105 184, Email masters.brett@saugov.sa.gov.au

Pictured: Regrowth on Italian Ryegrass pasture at Lipson after October rains.