As seen in Farm Weekly, 29/01/2026

This year, Irwin Hunter & Co. celebrates 60 years since its founding in 1966.

Still family-owned and locally operated, the company continues its commitment to providing Western Australian farmers with reliable, quality-tested, tried-and-trusted seeds.

Irwin Hunter was a pioneer in the WA pasture seed industry, promoting seed mixes for boosting productivity, soil health, and farm profitability.

Mixes like SouWest, Silahay, and Interow remain benchmarks for WA farmers due to their consistent performance across seasons and conditions.

After a tough 2024, 2025 saw better weather, allowing an adequate amount of spring feed and improved hay and silage production.

Forecasts for 2026 suggest average rainfall through to April, but a chance of an El Niño developing, which could lead to a drier winter and spring.

Farmers should prepare for possible dry conditions by managing stocking levels, optimising supplementary feed, and choosing resilient paddocks for planting forage crops.

Diverse pasture seed mixes offer greater resilience than monocultures, as a variety of species and maturities help maintain coverage and reduce vulnerability to weeds and climate challenges.

Weeds and soil health in pastures

Paddocks overrun with Capeweed and Barley Grass offer limited feed and rapidly become dominated by these weeds.

Poor soil pH and low fertility contribute to their persistence.

Improving soil health through liming and fertilisation is essential for control.

Farmers should conduct soil tests before the season to guide corrective actions and fertiliser use.

With thorough weed control, adequate fertilisation, and managed grazing, planting diverse Pasture Mixes can outcompete invasive weeds.

IHSeeds mixes include multiple species that grow at different times, providing continuous feed and suppressing unwanted weeds.

Regenerative and cover crop farming

Western Australian farmers, especially those using regenerative methods, need to monitor soil pH and fertility for optimal plant and microbial health.

By seeding diverse mixes, farmers are investing in the long-term sustainability of their most valuable asset: their land.

Diverse species mixes build healthier, more resilient farms by improving soil (structure, water retention, fertility, organic matter), reducing erosion, suppressing weeds, cycling nutrients (nitrogen fixing legumes), boosting biodiversity and often cutting input costs.

To add to IHSeeds' focus on generational sustainability, it has released BioNPK Powder S, a certified biological seed coating or soil spray.

It contains microorganisms that enhance nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium uptake, with mycorrhizal fungi aiding phosphorus absorption and Trichoderma viride improving growth and stress resilience.

BioNPK Powder S is ECOCERT certified and can be blended with chemicals and liquid fertilisers for various applications.

Irwin Hunter & Co. pasture mixes

Despite last season's improvements, the 2023-2024 drought will continue to have an effect on pasture species diversity.

Farmers can restore balance by over-sowing with mixes suited to their environment and livestock, as diverse grasses and legumes improve both feed quality and soil health.

SouWest remains Western Australia's leading pasture mix due to its unique blend of ryegrasses and clovers, offering reliable productivity and quality.

It is suitable for silage, hay, grazing, or regenerative uses.

Be sure to ask for Irwin Hunter & Co's original SouWest Mix because there are several similarly named products on the market.

Winter and Summer Cover Crop Plus Mixes are an exciting new addition to our mix lines which target farmers who aim to improve soil health and meet carbon farming requirements.

Cover crops are critical for farmers pursuing Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) through soil carbon sequestration.

The success of the mix speaks for itself with an enormous uptake last year and farmers impressed by its diversity, having 13 species in the mix.

Maximix is a popular, cost-effective option that delivers exceptional results.

This mix includes a wide range of tetraploid and diploid ryegrass varieties, along with aerial clovers.

With short and long-season maturities, it ensures high production throughout the growing season.

Farmers seeking pastures for hay or silage production often turn to Silahay or our Western Annual mix.

Both include Abundant and Dargo, two of WA's most productive ryegrasses.

Silahay's inclusion of Balansa and Persian clovers enhances hay quality.

The Self Regeneration mix is ideal for farmers in lower rainfall areas or those seeking easily managed and regenerative pastures.

Featuring Safeguard, an early maturing diploid ryegrass resistant to annual ryegrass toxicity (ARGT), this mix also includes sub and aerial clovers.

The range of varieties in this mix helps protect against false breaks and early finishes in the season.

The Interow mix is designed for farmers who prioritise soil health.

It creates an ideal environment for a balanced ecosystem, encouraging beneficial insects and improving soil health.

For the equine industry, Equi1st is WA's top choice.

Horses have unique feed requirements compared to sheep and cattle, needing lower sugars and starches, moderate protein, and high palatability.

This mix of perennials, grasses, and legumes caters to these needs and moisture-dependent, provides a year-round pasture.

Launched last season, Nitro Mix which combines white-seeded sub clovers, aerial clovers, and serradella, has had enormous success since it offers adaptability and versatility and can rebuild grass pastures, improve soil health, or serve as a high-protein forage pasture with managed grazing.

All seeds in this mix are bare, non-GMO, and chemical-free, making them suitable for organic farming.

In addition to its standard mixes, IHSeeds offers a Mix & Match option that allows farmers to tailor custom pasture blends to suit their farm or individual paddocks, using the most extensive range of pasture seed available in Western Australia to meet specific on-farm requirements.

Ryegrasses and other grasses

Annual ryegrasses

Although older varieties, Abundant (tetraploid) and Dargo (diploid) remain the most popular ryegrass varieties in WA and consistently perform well in the Forage Value Index in the Pasture Trials Network produced by Dairy Australia.

Due to high demand, these varieties sold out last year; however, we undertook significant seed production and have good stocks available this year.

Valley Seeds' newly released tetraploid variety, Evoke, performed exceptionally well in the Forage Value Index Trials and saw good uptake last year.

Evoke combines annual and Italian ryegrass genetics, giving this variety the ability to establish quickly, produce high-quality winter feed, and maintain quality later in the season.

Astound and Amazon T provide alternative varieties to Abundant with excellent rust resistance and season-dependent, will be able to provide a strong finish to production in the spring.

ARGT is becoming increasingly common in the Lower Regions of Western Australia, and the only sustainable solution to this often-devastating disease is Safeguard annual ryegrass.

Safeguard is a very early maturing diploid ryegrass that, over time, will cross-pollinate the carrier, usually the common Wimmera ryegrass and can eradicate the disease.

Planting Safeguard before ARGT becomes a problem can be a good risk mitigation strategy.

Being the shortest-maturing variety available, it is also well suited to Wheatbelt areas.

Finefeed has a high tiller density, recovers quickly after grazing, and is later maturing, making it an excellent option for higher-rainfall areas.

Biennial and perennial ryegrasses

IHSeeds supplies a selection of Italian ryegrasses, including tetraploid and diploid varieties like Amass and Achieve, known for their late-season growth, reliable spring yield, and strong recovery after grazing.

For long-term pastures, perennial ryegrasses such as Dunstan and AusVic offer durability and consistent results.

Valley Seeds' Hypa hybrid ryegrass, developed for irrigation with high dry matter production and rust resistance, is an exciting new variety on the market distributed by IH Seeds.

The Irrigation Mix blends Amass, Achieve, Hypa, and White clover for prolonged forage production.

Other grasses

Tall Fescue, Treposno Cocksfoot, and Amplify Phalaris thrive in tough conditions like drought, waterlogging, and acidic soils.

Mission Veldt suits sandy soils, while Puccinellia and Tall wheatgrass excel in saline areas.

Rhodes Grass varieties like Finecut, Katambora, and Callide are dependable perennial choices for resilient summer growth but require careful management during establishment.

Legumes

Aerial clovers and serradellas

In waterlogged areas, varieties such as Riverina, Shaftal and Kyambro Persian clovers, and Paradana Balansa thrive.

Strawberry clover is persistent and tolerates mild salinity.

Casbah Biserrula and Cavalier Medic adapt well to heavy grazing and low rainfall.

Crimson clover withstands drought, while Berseem suits heavier soils with reliable rainfall and is ideal for hay production.

Aerial clovers – Arrowleaf, Hykon Rose, and serradellas excel in deep sands and low pH soils; serradella options like Santorini, Serramax, Margurita, and Fran2o are productive and resilient even under tough conditions.

Arrowleaf prefers high-quality soils, and Hykon Rose adapts broadly and has moderate hard seed content.

Subterranean clovers

Subterranean clovers are valuable self-regenerating annuals, with Dalkeith found in most paddocks.

White-seeded clovers like Riverina are productive and tolerate some waterlogging.

Nungarin suits low-rainfall areas, while Seaton Park performs well in regions with higher rainfall.

Lucernes

Lucerne is a drought-tolerant perennial that improves soil and provides high-quality forage.

IHSeeds introduces three new varieties: L70 (Dormancy 7, top productivity), L91 (Dormancy 9, very winter active, high yields), and L97 (excellent saline tolerance up to 20,000 ppm, sets new standards for yield and quality).

All offer superior pest and disease resistance.

Alternative forage and cover crops

In cooler months, crops like vetch, forage peas, cereal rye, and Saia oats establish quickly with dense roots and high biomass.

Combining legumes and cereals, as in IHSeeds' Green Manure Mix, offers multiple benefits.

Tillage Forage Radish and sunflowers relieve compaction and aid nutrient recovery.

Buckwheat, Freyrs Sunn Hemp, and Winfred Forage Brassica work well as cover crops and offer extra forage for rotational grazing.

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