As seen in Farm Weekly, 30/01/2025

Irwin Hunter & Co. offers a wide range of pasture mixes designed for specific purposes, such as grazing, silage or hay production, and to meet particular livestock requirements.

The Mix & Match custom mix option ensures that each farm's unique needs are met.

Western Australia's diverse climates and soil profiles demand pasture solutions that can thrive under varying conditions.

Irwin Hunter & Co's mixes are carefully designed to perform consistently year after year, even in challenging environments.

Reliable seed and proven mixes provide farmers with stability and the assurance of steady forage production, reducing risks associated with underperforming pastures.

Regenerative pastures are essential to sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation, restoring and enhancing soil health, increasing biodiversity, and fostering resilient ecosystems.

This approach not only positively impacts the environment but also provides numerous benefits, making pasture management more efficient and cost-effective.

By revitalising the land, regenerative agriculture improves crop yields and boosts overall farm profitability, creating sustainable and productive farming systems.

Our range of mixes can provide excellent choices for farmers wanting to practice regenerative agriculture including Self Regeneration Mix, with an ARGT-resistant ryegrass base 'Safeguard', provides the perfect solution for many WA farmers.

This mix provides an early-flowering annual ryegrass and selected clovers and, with proper management, is well suited to crop rotations.

It allows for light grazing from six weeks and benefits from rotational and controlled grazing once it reaches 10–15 centimetres in height.

Certified Safeguard stands out as the sole annual ryegrass variety resistant to annual ryegrass toxicity (ARGT) in the pasture seed market.

Certified Safeguard provides growers with a sustainable and unique solution for ARGT control of the nematode (Anguina funesta) responsible for ARGT, preventing the toxin-producing bacterium (Clavibacter toxicus) from reaching threatening levels in pastures, along with excellent grazing and baling potential.

Specifically developed for livestock producers and hay exporters.

Irwin Hunter & Co recommends Safeguard annual ryegrass for pasture regeneration in Western Australia because it flowers early, taking advantage of good soil moisture levels to improve the chances of a successful seed set.

Safeguard offers exceptional winter yield and robust, leafy growth.

Its vigorous nature allows it to be repeatedly cut and grazed, making it an ideal choice for productive and sustainable pasture rotation.

The Self Regeneration Mix utilises 'Safeguard' ARGT resistant annual ryegrass, which can cross-pollinate with Wimmera ryegrass to pass on ARGT resistance to the next generation (as long as they both flower at the same time).

Over time, this process helps convert Wimmera ryegrass into an ARGT resistant variety.

Self Regeneration Mix also provides grazing opportunities in winter and early spring before being locked up for seed production and providing regeneration in the following years while simultaneously offering protection against ARGT.

A successful ARGT management program requires a medium-term commitment of 2–3 years to achieve optimal results.

Farmers adopting regenerative practices or transitioning away from chemical fertilisers should pay attention to soil pH for optimal plant and microbial growth.

Irwin Hunter & Co.'s BioNPK Powder S, a broad-spectrum biological product with beneficial microorganisms, enhances nutrient uptake by converting N, P, and K into plant-accessible forms.

The mycorrhizal fungi colonise plant roots to improve nutrient absorption, particularly phosphorous and provide protection against pathogenic microorganisms.

Trichoderma viride promotes growth and stress resilience.

BioNPK Powder S, which is ECOCERT approved, will be offered as a seed coating on various mixes: Interow, Cover Crop Plus mixes and Nitro Mix, as well as Mix & Match custom mixes.

BioNPK Powder S can also be sprayed on the bare soil at planting and post-planting, being compatible to be mixed with chemical and liquid fertilisers.

Other Irwin Hunter pasture mix options for your farm

  • SouWest Pasture Mix – The most popular blend in WA, featuring a diverse selection of annual and perennial ryegrasses combined with clovers. This mix is also a productive and versatile option for regenerative agriculture.
  • Equi1st Mix – Designed for equine pastures, this scientifically formulated mix includes annuals and perennials, creating a healthy, low-sugar, low-starch pasture with moderate protein. It is highly palatable and suitable for all livestock, providing year-round production in areas with adequate soil moisture.
  • Silahay Mix – A powerhouse for grazing and silage production, this mix combines carefully selected ryegrasses and clovers to deliver high-quality bulk feed.
  • MaxiMix – A cost-effective blend featuring early, medium, and late varieties of diploid and tetraploid ryegrasses, oats, and aerial-seeded clovers. It delivers productive and quality feed over the entire growing season.
  • Irrigation Mix – A premium blend of ryegrasses and Haifa white clover, including the new Hypa hybrid ryegrass (25% Italian and 75% perennial ryegrass). This mix is ideal for dairy and livestock enterprises requiring extended seasonal production under irrigation.
  • Nitro Mix – Designed to enhance soil fertility and structure, this mix features subterranean and aerial-seeded clovers combined with hard-seeded serradella. It's an excellent option for regenerative farming or cover cropping.
  • Western Annual Ryegrass Mix – This mix of early to mid-late maturing diploid and tetraploid ryegrasses ensures full production throughout the season, providing excellent flexibility to use for either silage, hay or grazing.
  • Interow Mix – A quick-establishing ground cover featuring annual and perennial ryegrasses, oats, tillage radish, legumes and clovers. This mix offers bulk for mulching and numerous benefits, including increased organic biomass, nitrogen fixation, reduced erosion, weed suppression, and attraction of beneficial insects. With its diversity, it is also well suited for cover cropping or regenerative pastures.
  • Green Manure Mix – A fast-growing crop ready for mulching in six to eight weeks. It enhances soil structure, suppresses weeds, and replenishes nutrients, with the option to graze for extra feed.
  • Cover Crop Plus Winter – A diverse blend of 13 species offers all the benefits of cover cropping: high biomass, nitrogen-fixing legumes, soil structure improvements, and beneficial insect attraction. Use it to protect bare soil, promote biodiversity, and enhance the environment. Graze, mulch, or incorporate into the soil.
  • Cover Crop Plus Summer – A summer cover crop designed to boost soil health. This mix of grains, broad leaves, and legumes promotes water filtration, nitrogen fixation, erosion reduction, and pest and weed suppression.
  • Mix & Match – Customise your own pasture mix to suit your specific requirements.

Partnering with IHSEEDS means more than just buying pasture mixes.

It's about accessing expert advice, tailored solutions, and a commitment to supporting Western Australian farmers to secure their success today and into the future.

We focus on delivering consistent, high-performing products, maintaining a trusted name in the industry, and providing professional and efficient service with WA's broadest range of readily available quality seeds in our shed.

Our proven seed varieties and mixes are widely available throughout WA, so contact your local agricultural farm supplier regarding our extensive range of pasture seed and specialty mixes.

Many of our pasture mixes meet the criteria for soil carbon sequestration under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), enabling you to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) while promoting sustainable farming practices.

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