Planting new pastures is probably the last thing on the mind of Blayney producers, as the soil moisture profile rapidly drys out to a zero balance. It has been a seesaw season given the early Autumn rains, with many pasture varieties selling out this Autumn. Many paddocks earmarked for new pasture in Autumn 2018 have already been sprayed out in preparation to fill that soil water profile over the warmer (wishfully wetter) months. Blayney sheep and cattle producers can now access the local pasture trial data from the MLA website. The Stonestreet family hosted the trial site on their Glenelg road property north of Blayney from 2012 till 2015. Full credit to David Harbison, from DR Agriculture Pty Ltd, who was the researcher running this site under some trying weather conditions.
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For some, the wait for these results to be published has been excruciating, to say the least. However, the saying, "better late than never" can certainly be applied to this local research having an impact on pasture sowing decisions for many producers in the Blayney district for years to come. Commercial agronomists and consultants certainly appreciate MLA research dollars being invested locally. Going by the large numbers that visited the site over recent years, there will be good interest from producers across the central tablelands wanting to see the fruits of their levy dollar now published on MLA's Pasture Trial Network website.
When exploring the trial data, the pasture production of each species is particularly valuable, especially in the Autumn and Winter months when growth is needed. For example, one variety of Tall Fescue grew an average 964kgs/Ha, compared to a variety of Cocksfoot only averaged 588kgs/Ha in Winter. Growing the highest biomass is one part of the pasture selection puzzle. Cost of establishment, maintenance costs, acid soil tolerance, disease and pest resistance, help create the full picture.
What is disappointing, from an adviser's point view, is the lack of persistence data on each variety. Especially when the trial notes suggest that "the perennial ryegrass trial is reflecting some strong ‘performers’, while at the same time, proving the demise of other varieties". Knowing which varieties fell out of the system in the dry times and which ones persisted, is surely vital information for local producers to make their decision on what to plant for what purpose. Blayney producers are certainly fortunate to have the likes of local consultant David Harbison and local producer James Stonestreet, to ask the harder questions delving into the performance of each variety on this trial site. Check out the results from this trial here: tools.mla.com.au/ptn/#/home.