'Weathering the Dry: Perennial Edition' - Farmer Summary

Farmer: Murray Grey

Property: ‘Tarracarral’ – Yathroo

Key Takeaways

1. Enhanced Groundcover and Soil Health through Rotational Grazing:
   • Rotational grazing has significantly improved groundcover and soil quality at Murray Grey’s farm, resulting in darker soil and better moisture retention. This practice has demonstrated the benefits of maintaining a high percentage of groundcover to optimize photosynthetic activity and support perennial growth.
2. Adaptation and Flexibility in Grazing Management:
   • Grazing strategies at Tarracarral are highly adaptable, with rotation periods adjusted based on feed availability. High stocking rates and variable rest periods are essential for managing pastures effectively, especially during dry conditions. This flexibility ensures that plants are left functional and ready for rain.
3. Strategic Use of Perennials to Combat Environmental Challenges:
   • Perennials play a crucial role in pasture resilience, providing benefits such as deeper root systems that access underground water and maintain growth during dry periods.
4. Cost-Effective and Innovative Feeding Practices:
   • Farmers shared various supplement strategies, including the use of fermented grain, urea mineral licks, and straw. These practices aim to maintain livestock health and pasture integrity while adapting to market conditions and feed availability. Innovative feeding methods, such as trail feeding and mobile lick feeders, help mitigate the impact on paddocks.
5. Importance of Knowledge Sharing and Community Support:
   • The event highlighted the value of ongoing discussions, field demonstrations, and community support in addressing the challenges posed by dry conditions. Farmers benefitted from exchanging insights on grazing management, crop selection, and cost-effective practices, reinforcing the need for collaborative efforts to enhance agricultural resilience.

Read on to see a comprehensive list of notes from the event.

Session 1: Bush Paddock #1

Paddock description:

• 132Ha, pre-2019 paddock had some serradella otherwise populated with brome grass
• Sown in 2019: mix of triticale, barley, oats, arrowleaf clover with Tobin Bullet single disc seeder
• Murray has noticed a significant increase in groundcover percentage in the past few years alongside a significant color difference i.e. darker soil since rotational grazing and maintaining groundcover
• Trialed a winter cover crop last year (no fertilizer) however, went in late and was too cold leading to ordinary growth
• Even with low growth Murray still found increased growth and groundcover with cover crop and perennials
• Grazing has no fixed time of rotation, more so based on feed availability
• Ideally leaving enough plant behind to be functional and rain ready – optimize photosynthetic area of the perennial
• High stocking rates keep perennial tufts smaller
• Grazing for 2023: 380-400kg steers through winter, then breeders for a week, then 170 weaners for 10 days
• 40 day rest period when pastures are growing fast in the spring, 120 day rest when growth rate slows over summer
• This summer having to graze more than preferred; trying to be gentle but hand has been forced due to stock numbers and market conditions
• However, with only 0.5ml of rain, perennials are shooting/bright green
  • More groundcover leading to easier catching of water when rain does come
• Group and Murray commented on the paddock looking better than in past years
• Current plans are to utilize what is in the paddock, particularly what has built up over the past couple of good years
• Future plans for this paddock involve to particularly keep legumes in the mix and intensifying further alongside strip grazing.
• Discussion Point 1: Strip grazing
  • Conversation began on strip grazing as a way to control feed
  • Advances in water points/management e.g. techno bull, ‘tophat’ water troughs (nose triggers and easy to move), Matt Carrick, techno graze etc.
  • Movement of cattle was noted to be easier with a big enough mob
  • On Pip Bain’s property – 25ha average paddock size, 800-70 head per mob, shifting every 3 days; usually having weekly shifting schedule at this time of year however not this year, overstocked.
  • Three drivers of decisions: lack of rain, lack of hay, poor market prices
    • Cattle are due to calf now but still have all the weaners from last year
    • Ideally, people would have sold cattle to offset poor season however no market to do so
    • Sacrificial paddocks may be needed to preserve the better pasture paddocks
• Discussion Point 2: Irrigation
  • Consensus that once perennials are established, it doesn’t take a lot to keep them going; once established, cut the irrigation and wait for the rain
  • Interest in seeing the ROI on an irrigation pivot with perennials and how water affects perennial growth
  • Grazing management, agronomy and cost important.
    • graze too low and roots pull up
  • Murray has noticed Rhodes grass striking underground water from perched water tables
• Discussion Point 3: Supplements – Little, Often
  • Pip Bain feeding fermented grain, supplementing with urea mineral lick (summer block) but has noticed cattle uninterested in lick this summer
  • Ben and Sean Plozza trail feeding a bit of lupins everyday (sheep)
  • However cattle aren’t able to be trail fed, Pip Bain has a lick feeder mounted on wheels and tows between paddocks
  • Murray has switched from hay this year and feeds straw in tagasaste paddocks to keep up roughage
  • Issues with feeders causing bare patches in paddocks impacting on perennial growth and groundcover
• Discussion Point 4: Grazing Management
  • Murray noted that perennials haven’t stopped growing, they have deep roots, perennials just need a start
    • More leaf surface area will lead to them able to grab more water and in turn, more growth
    • Perennials take in moisture for both the plant and the microbes
  • Ideal situations:
    • Every 3 day system, pivot and strip grazing a set amount of paddocks with an additional hospital paddock – Keith Anderson
    • When going away, Pip Bain opens 3-4 paddocks -> done with sacrificed laneways for easier management
    • 15 month paddock rest – Nick Woods, 2 year rest – Joe De Pledge
    • Wagon wheel paddock setup
    • Rested paddock for ’emergencies’
    • Aim to not be inundated with rotations and constant cattle moving, got to enjoy it
  • Group interest in understanding what makes perennials ‘go’ and ‘stop’ to better manage grazing
    • Understanding of drivers of stress (perennials rely on stress points to produce seed)
  • Discussion of being careful not to keep stepping down amount of feed on the ground, otherwise left with bare ground
• Discussion Point 5: Fertilizer
  • There was a discussion held around the Urea Sustain product from CSBP which will be in the trial for this year at the site
  • Farmers were seeking to understand the product and how it could fit in to their farming system
  • Urea sustain less likely to leach in sandy soils
    • polymer coated urea -> slow release over 1yr
      • greater N utilisation
      • less atmospheric loss
      • less leaching
  • Nick Woods fertilizes in 2nd year of establishment, more without decent summer
  • Pip Bain fertilizes if inter-row seeding and for the hay program (not for the perennials but for the hay)
  • Murray has noticed no preferential grazing from 2023 treatments
• Discussion Point 6: Groundcover
  • Farmers commented that there was good groundcover across the paddock, and across the farm
  • Murray said that he was struggling to keep it with the amount of stock he was carrying relative to the amount of rainfall he had received
  • Perennial grasses are an important part of the pasture mix, even when it is raining and not actively growing
    • Help to hold the soil together and prevent erosion with root system and dry matter on the soil surface
    • Perennials are responding to the dewy mornings and this gives some encouragement for Murray that he is doing a good job
  • Everyone agreed and praised Murray for his approach and success in keeping good cover on his paddocks
  • The pasture was ready for the season break and would get away well when it rains

Session 2: Bush Paddock #2

Paddock description:

• There is a soak in the paddock near the fence line, valley; 600mm to water where strainer posts went in earlier this year
• Perennial grass sown on this low lying area is much greener and still in tufts from extra growth compared to the rest of the paddock
• The area is an odd shape to put into its own paddock; when Murray lanes for strip grazing, able to be more picky and set this area aside (~20ha)
• Last year was the first year Murray has not seen cattle camping in this section of the paddock
  • Frost from last year slowed the growth of perennials in general and on this low lying area; he theorises this has put the plants into a coma -> lowering sugar content
• Perennials are being sown around the soak to address the recharge area of the landscape and hopefully reduce the amount of water in the soak
  • small waterway running into the soak is showing some early signs of salinity
  • Perennials sown 1-2 years ago on surrounding hill paddocks

• Discussion Point 1: Perennials
  • signs of self-replicating of perennials is a good sign
  • Murray has found panic grass does not work on the wet area but Rhodes grass does
  • Rhodes grass holds country, one plant is able to pin down 4m2 of land
  • Murray notes that there is no noticeable evidence of perennials suppressing the water table
  • There is interest in putting a probe in to measure what’s happening in this area
    • Keen to use water use efficiency and horticulture of pasture + livestock – working with Nick Eyres
    • N use efficiency
    • Water and nutrient content in soil versus plant production
  • Salt – not an issue but the drain leading into the area is salty and increasing
    • Murray is thinking of plans to mitigate this

Session 3: High View Paddock

Paddock description:

• 72ha, tester paddock, DPIRD FEED365 Project trial
  • Winter cover crop over perennials, measuring grazing days and weight gain
• It was noted that the trial paddock produced Heavy livestock weight gains of 1.2kg/day
  • dropped to 0.4kg/day when moved to another paddock
• Sown in 2022 barley, oats, triticale, vetch, ryegrass, clover
• Grazed 3 times in 2022
• 2023 added lupins, cereal rye and serradella
• 330ml rainfall for calendar year, 12ml since last year, 230ml 12 month rainfall (lowest since Murray has farmed in the area)
• Sowed in may then cold in June, intended to graze July but deferred to august
  • 300kg steers for 16 days, 1.8kg/day ‘went to town’
  • spelled until October then 156 heifers, 0.85kg/day for 2 weeks
  • grazed again January 48 steers for a month then weaners in march
  • weight gain on subsequent comparison paddock for the initial two mobs was 0.8kg/day and 0.5kg/day respectively
• Has been reasonable serradella strike after a late sow
• Vetch came up again which was surprising
  • Interest in seeing what happens this year
  • Sandy soils are apparently not the soil for the plant but has been proven wrong
• Murray was also surprised by how well lupins grew and survived after first graze
• Legumes were dropped out of the program this year as they are the expensive component.
  • Relying on legume seed regeneration from last year
• There was a noted reduction in selective grazing, possibly due to the reduction in plants to select from
• Discussion Point 1: Costs
  • Interest from the group in looking at cost/benefit, cents/kg
    • Murray’s budget was $250/ha and ended up spending $235/ha
      • hasn’t pulled back on a per kg basis but might look into it
      • noted a 66c/kg gross gain
• Discussion Point 2: Fertilizer
  • With the current grain and cattle prices, there is a need to be selective with fertilizer use
  • Murray is planning to still put something on but being careful; even with the market what it is, still need to take care of the paddocks to some degree
    • Applying what’s required, when required
  • Group interest in:
    • Fertilizer costs of perennials offset against cattle prices
      • How to keep up with the fluctuating market
    • A better understanding of nutrient cycling in the system
      • How much is in the plant, animal etc. how its moving and replacing the amount that goes off the property
    • Getting the right microbes
  • Last year Murray used sledge and paraquat with summer rain but hasn’t this year as there are concerns it will kill any feed that is there – feed availability is king in this dry season, weeds and all
• Discussion Point 3: Plants
  • Consensus from the group that perennials are better than annuals even if not doing well this year
  • Last sown 40kg lupins, some barley, triticale and oats; no additional legumes
    • Interested to see how regenerating serradella from last year goes
    • Murray has tried canola -> not good; radish much tougher
      • Grazed tiller radish more so on gravel than sand, tap root to solve hard pan
  • Nick Wood’s winter forage brassica survived -> kangaroos don’t like it, however haven’t yet grazed with cattle yet so unsure if they will eat either
  • Current grain prices and cattle prices means that you need to be selective in where you are sowing a mixed species cover crop
  • Use of species/varieties that are low cost, can just use seed available as they will all grow and provide feed
    • Keep trying different things in the mix to see what happens
  • Murray noted lupins and barley already launching on 6ml and warm temperatures
  • Group consensus of a need to manage grazing around seed set to let plants set seed