Western Australia
May 6, 2011
Western Australian trials have confirmed that little or no grain yield losses occur when traditional cereal and canola varieties are grazed in winter, if livestock are removed at the right time.
The trials were conducted as part of the Grain & Graze 2 program funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and the Federal Government’s Caring for our Country initiative.
Agricultural consultant Philip Barrett-Lennard, of agVivo, who coordinates the Grain & Graze 2 program in WA, said yields were not reduced when crops at Geraldton and Esperance were grazed by sheep or cattle in June and early July, 2010.
“These yield results support positive anecdotal evidence from the small number of WA growers who already graze livestock on their grain crops,” he said.
Mr Barrett-Lennard presented information on the pros and cons of grazing crops during a recent series of Grain & Graze 2 workshops at Kojonup, Cuballing, Jerdacuttup and Esperance.
He said WA’s seasonal conditions often limited the opportunities for growers to seed dual-purpose varieties bred specifically for grazing, but that normal crop varieties could also be successfully grazed.
“Dual purpose varieties flower later than traditional varieties, offering a wider window of opportunity for grazing, but they need to be seeded early - in March or early April,” Mr Barrett-Lennard said.
“WA growers often don’t receive sufficient early rainfall to allow them to grow these dual-purpose crops.”
Mr Barrett-Lennard said traditional crop varieties seeded up to about the end of May could be grazed without grain yield losses, but the cut-off date for grazing varied between regions.
“Crops in higher rainfall areas with a longer growing season, such as Kojonup, can be grazed safely probably until as late as early August,” he said.
“In districts with a short growing season, such as Merredin, sheep and cattle would need to be removed in early to mid-July.”
Mr Barrett-Lennard said crop grazing allowed growers to increase their stocking rates, to grow a bigger area of crop, and to improve the productivity of their livestock.
“Although crop grazing is believed to have significant whole-farm benefits for WA growers, its economic consequences are not yet known,” he said.
“As part of the Grain & Graze program, economists are being commissioned to investigate the whole-farm economic consequences of grazing crops in WA.”
Mr Barrett-Lennard said one negative consequence was that intensive grazing of crops with a high grass weed burden exacerbated the weed problem in those paddocks.
“When the crop is grazed it is less competitive against grass weeds,” he said.
Tips for grazing crops included:
• All cereal and canola varieties can be grazed;
• Seed as early as possible to maximise feed supply;
• Choose clean paddocks, especially for ryegrass;
• Select the correct variety for the seeding date;
• Graze early and evenly;
• Do not graze too late;
• Use a calcium, sodium and magnesium feed supplement for sheep;
• Adhere to grazing withholding periods for pesticides;
• Apply top-up nitrogen after grazing, not before.
Mr Barrett-Lennard said a series of crop grazing field walks would be organised in winter under the Grain & Graze 2 program.
Grain & Graze 2, developed under the leadership of GRDC, aims to improve the profitability of farmers with mixed farming enterprises while helping to protect the environment.
GRDC and Caring for our Country have together invested $12 million over four years into Grain & Graze 2, with matching funding contributed by other agencies bringing the total national investment to $24 million.
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