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LUCERNE FEEDBACK
• 54Q53 LUCERNE FEEDBACK
• L56 LUCERNE FEEDBACK
• Q75 LUCERNE FEEDBACK
• L90 LUCERNE FEEDBACK
• L91 LUCERNE FEEDBACK
• MULTILEAF® ML99 LUCERNE FEEDBACK
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• MEDIC FEEDBACK
• RYEGRASS FEEDBACK
• LEGUMES FEEDBACK
• FORAGE CEREALS FEEDBACK
• SPRING OPTIONS FEEDBACK
• SOWSMART BLENDS FEEDBACK
• ESTABLISHMENT GUARANTEE FEEDBACK |
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 John Martin - Optima Tetraploid Perennial Ryegrass
Optima tetraploid perennial ryegrass is used as an alternative to continually having to sow annual ryegrasses. “We’ve had great success with Optima,” Mr Martin said. “It is surviving well with good pasture management at the beginning of summer.”
John Martin, Irrewarra, Victoria
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 Dale Serong - Optima Tetraploid Perennial Ryegrass
As part of Dale Serong’s pasture renovation program he uses Optima Perennial Ryegrass for the base of his permanent pastures. Mr Serong said the Optima ryegrass could then be topped up every two years or when needed with 20 kilograms per hectare of Diplex ryegrass directly drilled into the stand. He said the Optima has responded well to the season and provided valuable feed. The mix of ryegrass and other pasture varieties were chosen to suit the different paddocks and traditional feed gap periods. Silage is harvested at times of the year when there is too much feed for grazing and is then stored in a bunker as round bales to be used at various stages throughout the year.
Dale Serong, Labertouche, Victoria
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 David Gordon - Diplex Italian Ryegrass
Diplex Italian ryegrass was sown last season with the winter active L90 lucerne variety to provide grazing opportunities through the winter months. It was planted and watered once and grazed three times by dairy cows through the cooler months.
David Gordon, Undera, Victoria
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 Claire Weatherley - Magnum Tetraploid Hybrid Ryegrass
Significant improvements with pasture program. Claire Weatherley of Mortlake in the Western Districts of Victoria used Magnum Tetraploid Hybrid Ryegrass and Enduro Balansa Clover to improve stocking rates last season. A pasture improvement program conducted by Claire Weatherley at Mortlake in Victoria’s Western District has significantlyenhanced the carrying capacity of the paddock. Ms Weatherley said the property had a mix of older ryegrass and clover paddocks and they made a decision to improve the first of the cell grazing system areas last season. A blend of Magnum Tetraploid Hybrid Ryegrass at 20 kilograms per hectare and Goldstrike Enduro Balansa Clover at a rate of 4 kilograms per hectare was planted on May 14 last season. “We decided it was a good way of doing the older paddocks up and turning them into permanent pasture,” Ms Weatherley said. The property runs dairy heifers throughout the year under a cell grazing system with the paddock divided using electric wires and the cows allowed to feed through each section. Ms Weatherley said the aim was for the cows to graze the pasture at the three leaf stage and continue to the next area with the forage at a similar development. She said they didn’t make full use of the feed, however the stock grazing on the ryegrass and clover paddock still ran at approximately 20 DSE. “I think we could have been pushing up against 30 DSE had we utilised the feed,” she said. A number of management factors will be put in place next season to help realize the feed potential of the forage although the results from last year’s improved paddock were still much better than the rest of the property. “The maximum we had off the rest of the paddocks was between 8 and 10 DSE,” Ms Weatherley said. She said the 50 hectare paddock germinated well and produced good feed through the winter and spring. “The Magnum ryegrass was just brilliant
during Spring,” she said. “It was also still bright green in December with the cows continuing to put on one kilogram per
day.” The clover component of the feed came into its own later in the spring with the pasture expected to regenerate and
be available for next season. Next year there may be enough left or we could drill in an annual to bulk it up,” Ms Weatherley said. Dairy cows are brought to the property from the age of six months and stay there until they are at the point of calving. Weight gain is measured and used to determine payment for the adjistment service.
Claire Weatherley at Mortlake in Victoria’s Western District |
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 Andrew Daniel - Tetrone Annual Ryegrass
Tetrone ryegrass a good bulk-up option for hay cut.
Andrew Daniel inspecting the oats, Tetrone ryegrass and medic mix, used for hay on the property. Ryegrass proved an excellent option in a mix with oats and medic for a hay crop on the property of Andrew Daniel, near
Yorketown, on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. Mr Daniel said he normally used a mix of oats and vetch for hay production but replaced the vetch with Tetrone annual Italian ryegrass and a medic mix last season. “Tetrone was recommended to me to grow a bit of bulk,” he said. The hay blend consisted of Wallaroo oats (sown at 40 kilograms per hectare), Tetrone ryegrass (sown at 17 kilograms per hectare) and a mix of Paraggio, Parabinga and Goldstrike Caliph medic varieties. Tetrone exhibited excellent vigour at the start of the season. “I was actually worried that the oats were
going to be choked out,” Mr Daniel said. “The ryegrass was 12 inches high and powering on better than the oats,” he said. While the ryegrass made the most of the early running, the oats did come back later in the season to produce a high yielding, bulky hay mix. The 18 hectare paddock was cut in late October and produced 270 five foot by four foot round bales. With each bale weighing approximately one third of a tonne, the areas averaged around 5 tonnes per hectare in an excellent result. Mr Daniel said the hay quality was very good with the ryegrass and medic component helping to improve the protein content. “It was nice and green,” he said. The ryegrass component of the forage was almost a metre tall in places and could be seen coming up through the top of the oats. “It certainly made a good hay crop,” Mr Daniel said. “I was very happy with it.” The crop was direct-drilled into an old pasture paddock with the seed sown into nine inch row spacings on May 10 last year. A knock-down was used prior to sowing and the mix responded well under the good seasonal conditions. The paddock was not grazed as it also contained a wheat crop, although this could be an option in the future. “I wouldn’t mind trying a paddock as a grazing prospect,” Mr Daniel said. “I think if I’d grazed it off it might have yielded even more hay,” he said. The hay is all used on-farm with cattle and sheep being fed the forage over the autumn period. Both the ryegrass and medic component of the hay meant it was more palatable to sheep. “The sheep seem to like a bit more grass and medic in the hay than pure oats,” Mr Daniel said.
Andrew Daniel, near
Yorketown, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia |
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Anthony Baldissera - Tetrone Annual Ryegrass
Ryegrass experiment
convincing on SA property. A successful experiment with annual Italian ryegrass in the middle of an oats paddock convinced Anthony Baldissera of Ungarra, South Australia of the benefits of the species. Mr Baldissera said they first used Tetrone annual Italian ryegrass two years ago as sheep feed in a comparison with oats. “We did a strip down the centre of the paddock with the oats on either side,” he said. “The sheep lived on the ryegrass and not the oats.” “In the trial I could see up the strip every day - they were on the strip.” The success of the trial convinced Mr Baldissera to plant more last season with a 20 hectare paddock sown pure to Tetrone ryegrass just after Anzac Day. A sowing rate of 15 kilograms per hectare was used with starter fertiliser also applied at a rate of 40 kilograms per hectare. Mr Baldissera said a mob of 300 sheep were first introduced to the paddock quite early in the season and allowed to crash graze the area. The sheep were removed for three weeks and then placed back in the area for much of the remainder of the season. “They went in as a whole mob and the stuff started to get away,” Mr Baldissera said. Later in the season lambs and their mothers utilised the feed and continued to graze the
paddock right through until cropping stubbles were available in December. “We can really see the benefits of the ryegrass,” Mr Baldissera said. He said the Tetrone ryegrass worked well in smaller paddock types so that the sheep could be rotated from different areas. This allowed each paddock to be spelled through the season and also gave an opportunity to let a section go as insurance if the season went dry. Mr Baldissera said the use of Tetrone annual Italian ryegrass could also be used in cropping rotations and as a way to control annual ryegrass weeds. “It is very important not to let ryegrass go to seed,” he said. The pasture paddocks are well grazed and then either slashed or spraytopped with herbicide to reduce seed set. In the previous season the Tetrone paddock contained wheat and it has been rotated through to a barley crop in 2010. Mr Baldissera said it was a particularly good paddock for seed propagation and they were able to keep it cleaner with the use of an Italian ryegrass in the rotation.
Anthony Baldissera of Ungarra, South Australia |
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 Malcolm Collett - Tetrone Annual Ryegrass
Direct-drilled ryegrass an excellent
option for Katunga dairy. Ryegrass directdrilled into old pasture paddocks has proved an excellent option for dairy farmer, Malcolm Collett at Katunga, in northern Victoria. The ryegrass pasture provided its first grazing at the end of May, a subsequent silage cut
and further grazing options later in the year. Mr Collett said the 16 hectare and 14 hectares were not watered over the
summer and received the first irrigation at planting in early March. He planted a blend of Diplex Italian ryegrass and Magnum hybrid ryegrass into the old sub-clover paddock at a rate of 25 kilograms per hectare and watered it again five days later. “That was as much water as it had,” he said. The 200 cow dairy herd then strip grazed the area for a number of weeks, during the day time and had access to a nearby forage wheat crop during the night. Excellent growth from the
ryegrass meant some of the area grew quite tall and dry cows were used to clean it up before the paddocks were locked up for silage. Mr Collett said urea was then applied to the paddocks and they were watered and then harvested into round
bale silage during the spring. He said the ryegrass produced excellent quality silage with a protein content of up to 18 and 19 percent achieved. After the silage cut the cows were again able to graze the paddock, with the crop responding to good rains in November to provide further option into summer. ”We had a good season early, but it petered out towards the end,” Mr Collett said. “I was very happy with the ryegrass. I think we will do a similar thing this year.” He said the silage produced on the property was a valuable option in conjunction with hay as cow feed during the summer period.
Pastures sown in the autumn provide good grazing opportunities through winter and spring, but there can be a gap where silage and hay is useful. Mr Collett said the hay and silage are handy feeds prior to summer forage being ready also in the early autumn period. Of the two paddocks that contained Magnum and Diplex ryegrasses ryegrass last season one produced more forage over the year. “Three years ago we put two and a half tonnes per hectare of composted manure on the paddock which may have helped its success,” Mr Collett said.
Malcolm Collett of Katunga, in northern Victoria
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 Chris Drew - Tetrone Annual Ryegrass
Italian ryegrass an excellent green crop option. Chris Drew, of Leighton, in South Australia used Tetrone annual Italian ryegrass as green chop for the dairy herd. Ryegrass has proved to be an excellent green chop option to feed dairy cows on the property of Chris Drew, at Leighton, in South Australia’s mid-north region. Mr Drew said he first used Tetrone annual Italian ryegrass three years ago and found it well suited to the property. “Tetrone seems well suited to our area,” he said. “We need something with early growth. We’d tried some others but there was not much growth in the winter. Tetrone seemed to go all right.” Mr Drew said the area traditionally had heavy frosts in the winter and very hot springs and it was important to pick a ryegrass that could adapt to the two extremes in weather conditions. Tetrone on the property is typically planted in late April or early May with the green chop commencing in late winter or early Spring. Last season, the crop was sown in mid-May and the green chop was first harvested from the paddock in August. The forage is taken daily with the area cut aligned with the needs of the dairy at the time. It is chopped, windrowed, picked up and utilised immediately. Mr Drew said the Tetrone was sown at a rate of 20 kilograms per hectare with an application of 120 kilograms per hectare of a fertiliser blend. Urea is applied at a rate of 50 kilograms per hectare before the first cut and again after the first cut to encourage further growth. Last season
the first cuts took place in August, with a follow-up cut occurring in mid-September. Mr Drew said he was happy to get two good cuts off the Tetrone ryegrass per season, although more cuts were possible if conditions were suitable. Last season a third cut looked likely until the hot weather in October intervened. Instead of cutting the area for green chop, the dairy cows were allowed to graze the paddock through the late spring months. Tetrone ryegrass is an excellent option for the
dairy with its quick growth and excellent response after cutting or grazing. It is a tetraploid plant type which means it has
double the number of chromosomes (28) than the more traditional Diploid ryegrasses (14 chromosomes). The increased number of chromosomes has led to better tillering, faster growth, larger leaf size, higher moisture and greater carbohydrate content. Tetrone ryegrass is extremely frost resistant and has excellent cool season growth for good winter feed. Its mid-maturity means it can hold onto, and keep producing through the spring period instead of going to seed.
Chris Drew, of Leighton, South Australia |
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 Bruce Morgan - Tetrone Annual Ryegrass
Bruce Morgan, of Coulta, on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia has had excellent success with Tetrone ryegrass over the past two seasons. Ryegrass has proved an excellent feed option for the last two seasons on the property of Bruce Morgan, at Coulta, on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.Tetrone annual Italian ryegrass was first used on the property during 2008 and impressed with its growth throughout the season and the way it responded to limited rainfall in a dry spring. The ryegrass was providing green pick for sheep at the end of November and early December that year despite the unfavourable conditions. Mr Morgan said its performance that year meant it was sown again in 2009 into a wetter paddock that was unsuitable for cropping. The property is predominantly cropping although 1500 to 2000 ewes are also stocked throughout the year. In 2009 the Tetrone ryegrass was sown to a 12 hectare paddock in the second week of May. A sowing rate of 20 kilograms per hectare was used and the paddock also had an application of fertiliser (consisting of nitrogen, potassium and some zinc) at planting. The first grazing from the ryegrass took place in mid-July, eight weeks after planting, with 320 ewes and 300 lambs feeding off the paddock for the next three weeks. Mr Morgan said high stocking rates allowed the paddock to be grazed down quickly and also helped control problem grass species such as Silver Grass and Wimmera ryegrass. A heavy grazing early in the season also provided an opportunity to use the paddock for hay production during spring and help control seed set of the problem weeds. After the initial grazing, the paddock was broken up into two six hectare paddocks with the use of an electric wire and the individual sections were cell grazed by smaller mobs of sheep. Urea at a rate of 70 kilograms per hectare was applied to the blocks after each grazing and helped ensure excellent regrowth and quicker downtime through to when the lambs could re-enter the area. The paddocks were used to finish lambs prior to market. Generally there were 300 lambs rotating across the two paddocks during the six weeks prior to the stock being sent to market. Mr Morgan said the good growth of the Tetrone ryegrass allowed them to run a lot of stock in a small area. “It helped us run more stock and gave the other paddocks a break,” he said. “We can then put the stock into the other areas in smaller numbers later in the season.” Lambs were still grazing the paddocks into November, 2009 with the blocks providing a valuable and quality option during the dry spring conditions.
Bruce Morgan, of Coulta, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia |
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 Colin Ross - Tetrone Annual Ryegrass
Pasture mix performs well at Kapunda. Colin Ross, of Kapunda, in South Australia had good success with a pasture mix of the Tetrone ryegrass and Clare 2 sub-clover last season. A mixture of ryegrass and sub-clover has performed well on the property of Colin Ross, at Kapunda, near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Mr Ross said the pasture mix of the Tetrone annual Italian ryegrass and Clare 2 sub-clover had worked well for a number of years providing good feed early and the option for hay, as the season permits, later in the year. He said the ryegrass/sub-clover mix was sown after the break in April, with the ryegrass component used for early feed and bulk in hay production. The sub-clover provides valuable protein for grazing and hay production and is also a handy break crop option. Sheep were introduced to the 60 hectare paddock within eight to ten weeks of sowing and did very well on the forage. Mr Ross said he ran 700 sheep on the area for most of the winter, with the paddock divided into two 30 hectare parts and the stock rotationally grazed both parts. An adjacent area was also used as part of the rotation during the coldest part of winter. He said the ryegrass/sub-clover paddock was sown at a rate of 15 kilograms per hectare
immediately after the autumn break and also received 100 kilograms per hectare of MAP up-front. A good seedbed which
had been prepared after the previous year’s barley crop ensured an excellent germination and a good deal of bulk forage when the stock were introduced. Mr Ross said he would normally leave the introduction of the stock until later in the
season, however the earlier start provided the chance for the sheep to take advantage of the ryegrass growth. “We find the earlier you graze the better the clover does later in the season,” he said. The sheep were taken from the paddock in mid-August and the area then locked up for hay production. Good rain immediately after the lock-up prompted Mr Ross to add a further 40 kilograms per hectare of nitrogen to the paddock to stimulate further growth through the spring. Approximately 40 hectares of the paddock was harvested for hay in mid-October and produced 450 round bales. Some of the hay was sold to a local dairy as a high quality feed option. Mr Ross said the 20 hectares not taken for hay was spray-topped with the mix used as a break crop to control weeds and avoid disease in the cropping rotation.
Colin Ross, Kapunda, South Australia |
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 Merv Schuster - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
Tetrone ryegrass is used in a mix with clover to produce high quality feed for the horse industry on the property of Merv and Gavin Schuster at Freeling. A species mix of 60 percent Tetrone ryegrass and 40 percent clover is used to produce a product sought after by local and international buyers. Gavin Schuster said they had been able to achieve 5 tonnes per hectare from the mix under the tough seasonal conditions of the past two years.
Merv Schuster, Freeling SA
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 John & Solomon Burns - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
A mixture of Tetrone ryegrass and self-sown oats produced feed throughout the season for John and Solomon Burns of Cummins. The vigour of the oats allowed him to graze the paddock after just five weeks and combined well with the ryegrass for the rest of the season.“Oats had the bulk up early which was beneficial to allow the Tetrone to get away. Stock couldn’t keep up with it,” John Burns said. The 120 hectares fed 1100 ewes from the start of June until well after the winter crop had been finalised. “The oats - Tetrone combination was by far the best feed we had. “Last year was one of the best wool clips we had ever had.”
John and Solomon Burns, Cummins SA
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 James & Neil Russell - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
Tetrone ryegrass was used as a break crop to control snails on our property. One paddock had been continuously cropped for 10 years and he made a decision to put it back into pasture. Approximately 120 hectares were sown in late March which was predominantly ryegrass although some paddocks also included a planting of oats. One section was sown in late March and at 10 kg/ha of Tetrone and 50 kg/ha of oats. It seemed to work quite well. The first one or two grazings the stock ate the oats but once the oats gave up the ghost the Tetrone took over and powered away. The 38 hectare paddock had 700 cross-bred lambs introduced on May 23 and supported a similar number throughout the year. Urea was applied after each grazing. In early spring, the paddock was cut down the centre with an electric wire and one side locked up. It was then harvested for hay and produced 170 large rolls. Rain late in October rejuvenated the paddock which still fed 500 lambs well in the New Year. We have not noticed as many snails in the paddock and would also use the Tetrone/oats mix this season.
James and Neil Russell, Green Patch SA
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Tony Sumner - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
One hundred hectares for Tetrone ryegrass was the main feed source through spring and summer for 1200 sheep on the property of Tony Sumner at Mt Bryan last season. Mr Sumner planted the crop in May and first put the sheep into the paddock in early August. The area was cut into two sections and the stock rotated week-on, week-off throughout the spring. Rainfall in late October helped the Tetrone kick away again and provided valuable feed through until February. Mr Sumner said this season he would look at planting the ryegrass with barley to provide good bulk feed from the cereal early in the season and have the advantage of the Tetrone through the spring and summer period.
Tony Sumner, Mt Bryan SA
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Andrew & Leoni Green - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
A DSE of 27 was achieved from a number of Tetrone ryegrass paddocks on the property of Andrew and Leonie Green at Warunda, SA last season. Leonie Green said the ryegrass was planted in eight different paddock types and sizes. The paddock sizes range from 10 hectares through to one 80 hectare block which was split into three sections. “It worked best with the smaller paddocks,” Mrs Green said. “With the smaller paddocks we would put a mob of about 300 on it and they would graze it down evenly before being put into another paddock. “It didn’t taker long for the ryegrass to come back.” The Tetrone was planted in a range of paddocks as a weed control option.“We had a lot of weeds issues,” she said. ”It was a good way to clean it up.” Ewes and lambs grazed the Tetrone paddocks with the first lot of lambs sold off at four months and attracting an average price of $55. Some of the remaining lambs were sold in January at $95. “It is certainly the way to go,” Mrs Green said. “A lot of people have seen it and asked about it.”
Andrew & Leonie Green, Warunda, SA
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 Julian Baillie - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
A paddock of Tetrone ryegrass provided valuable feed in the July - August period for Julian Baillie of Tumby Bay. Mr Baillie said the Tetrone was planted in a 10 hectare paddock as a trial last season to provide feed for lambing ewes during winter. The paddock chosen had a number of weed species that included marshmallow, fumitory, capeweed and barley grass which were allowed to germinate and then sprayed out prior to sowing. “We had a good strike (from the Tetrone) and it quickly covered the whole paddock,” Mr Baillie said. Good conditions early meant the Tetrone provided an excellent option for lambing ewes in the July through to September period. The paddock was divided in half and two mobs totalling 130 ewes and 140 lambs grazed the area. “At the time when we really needed it we were able to use it,” Mr Baillie said. The property is predominantly a Merino operation with a Merino Stud. Mr Baillie said there was a need for a lot of smaller paddocks (2 to 10 hectares) for mating and grazing purposes and the Tetrone option suited this well. The latter half of the year was very dry although the Tetrone paddock did respond late in the season on the back of some November rainfall. “The paddock came again and we received another two weeks grazing out of it,” Mr Baillie said. He said they would use Tetrone again this season. “In a marginal year (2007) we were really happy with it,” Mr Baillie said. “I think it will do really good things in a better year.”
Julian Baillie, Tumby Bay SA |
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 Phil Hyde - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
Excellent quality hay was made from a paddock of Tetrone ryegrass on the property of Phil Hyde at Green Patch. The hay was a combination of ryegrass and clover oversown into a strawberry clover flat. Mr Hyde said the hay went in green and came out green with excellent colour. The hay was taken from a forty hectare paddock that was sown at the start of April and first grazed four weeks later. One thousand weaners ate down the pasture until the end of July. The paddock had an application of urea and was shut up for the rest of the season. With one rainfall in that time, the paddock produced nearly 600 rolls of hay.
Phil Hyde, Green Patch SA
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John Crozier - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
A mix of Tetrone ryegrass, balansa clover and oats provided a phenomenal amount of feed over winter, spring and into summer for John Crozier of “Mondilibi”, Mortlake Victoria. Mr Crozier said he would be up the creek without the pasture mix which was planted to 225 hectares in early May. One thousand ewes lambed down in one paddock in June and the mix enabled the sale of 7000 lambs before Christmas. “We used the annual mix to finish lambs on the grass,” Mr Crozier said. The oats component of the mix provided the early growth and then the Tetrone ryegrass and balansa components provided excellent feed for the rest of the season. “It gave us a power of feed last year just when we needed it.” Cows and calves were still grazing the paddocks in mid-February. Mr Crozier said this season he would use a similar mix and hoped to ensile some of it to put in a bunker.
Jogn Crozier, Mortlake, Victoria
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 Andrew & John Mitchell - Tetrone Annual Italian Ryegrass
A trial paddock of straight Tetrone ryegrass provided excellent grazing and hay options on the property of Andrew, John and David Mitchell at Mintaro SA. Andrew Mitchell said the paddock was put in to see how it would go for sheep and provided two early grazings and then a cut of hay. He said they harvested 27 big squares off five hectares at more than 4 t/ha. ”We are very excited about what it can do.” Feed tests from a processor came up really well and the pasture could even command provide a premium price over cereal hay. “It would be comparable to cereal hay in yield,” Mr Mitchell said.
Andrew & John Mitchell, Mintaro SA
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