As seen in Farm Weekly, 04/06/2026

Summer can be one of the most demanding periods for exposed soils in Western Australia.

Wind erosion, surface crusting, moisture loss, nutrient decline and reduced microbial activity can all affect paddock performance heading into the following season.

Summer cover cropping offers a practical way to protect soil while also providing extra forage value in mixed farming systems.

The IHSeeds Cover Crop Plus Summer Mix has been developed to provide groundcover, biodiversity, nutrient cycling and livestock feed within a single system.

As with any summer cover crop in a dryland environment, success will depend largely on available soil moisture, seasonal timing and strong establishment.

Where conditions are favourable, the mix can improve soil structure, reduce erosion, suppress weeds, stimulate biological activity and contribute useful forage.

By maintaining active growth through summer, it helps keep soil biologically active when bare paddocks are most exposed to heat, wind and evaporation.

Above-ground biomass protects the surface, moderates temperature, improves water infiltration and, when managed well, returns organic matter and carbon to the system.

A key strength of the IHSeeds Cover Crop Plus Summer Mix is the way its seven species complement one another.

By combining cereals, legumes and broadleaf species the mix spreads functional benefits through different layers of the soil profile and supports soil structure, nutrient cycling, biological activity and overall paddock performance.

Forage

Each species contributes differently to the forage profile of the mix.

Cowpeas provide a high-quality summer legume feed source, millet adds rapid bulk and fibre, chicory offers palatability and relative drought tolerance, and forage brassica contributes leafy grazing potential.

Buckwheat is palatable early, while young sunflowers can also provide useful grazing material.

Tillage radish adds fast early growth and short-term forage.

Root diversity

Root diversity is one of the mix's major agronomic strengths.

Millet develops dense fibrous roots that help bind and protect the upper soil layers, reduce erosion and contribute organic matter.

Deep tap-rooted species such as chicory and tillage radish extend further into the profile, where they can help alleviate compaction, improve pore continuity and enhance water infiltration.

Tillage radish is particularly valuable for its vigorous taproot, which can penetrate dense layers, improve air and water movement and create bio-pores that may assist following crops.

It also scavenges mobile nutrients from deeper in the profile and helps redistribute them through biomass breakdown.

Chicory contributes further soil-conditioning benefits through deep rooting and mineral recovery, while sunflowers support nutrient scavenging and mycorrhizal activity.

Together, these root systems help build a more aerated, biologically active soil profile.

Nutrient sharing

Legumes within the mix, particularly cowpeas, play an important role in nutrient cycling through biological nitrogen fixation.

This can help increase nitrogen availability within the system, while companion species such as millet, chicory, brassicas and tillage radish capture and recycle nutrients from different depths of the soil profile.

This complementary nutrient use helps reduce losses, improve nutrient-use efficiency and support soil biology through root exudates and biomass return.

Tillage radish is especially effective as a nutrient scavenger, helping capture nitrogen and other mobile elements that might otherwise be lost below the root zone.

Dense canopy development also protects the soil surface, assists weed suppression and contributes to overall biodiversity.

Building a living soil system

Multi-species cover crop systems help build living soils by supporting a wider range of root interactions and beneficial microbial processes.

Different species release different root exudates, which can stimulate microbial activity, improve aggregation, enhance nutrient cycling and support moisture infiltration and retention.

In dryland systems, however, these outcomes depend on sound management, particularly around sowing time, soil moisture, grazing pressure and termination timing.

The diverse plant types within the IHSeeds Cover Crop Plus Summer Mix work together to improve soil function, support forage production and strengthen long-term paddock resilience and productivity.

Its value lies in combining groundcover, root activity, nutrient cycling, biodiversity and grazing potential all within one mix.

Contact your local farm supplier or Irwin Hunter & Co for more information regarding the extensive range of pasture seed and mixes.