As seen in Farm Weekly, 04/07/2024

At Irwin Hunter & Co, WA's leading distributor of Seeds for Improved Pasture Production, we offer an extensive range of quality, proven and tested Pasture Seed varieties and Specialty Mixes with the option to "Custom Mix" to suit your on-farm requirements.

In Western Australia, perennial pastures and cover crops play a crucial role in sustainable agriculture, particularly during the summer months when the climate poses significant challenges.

Perennial pastures

Perennial Pastures provide a range of benefits that are crucial to the resilience and viability of farming systems in WA including continuous supply of forage for livestock, even during the dry summer months and reducing the need for supplemental feeding.

They improve soil health and reducing the need for inputs and can lower production costs and enhance farm profitability.

Perennials deep root systems stabilise the soil, reducing erosion caused by wind and water which provides important protection to Western Australia's sandy and often fragile soils.

Their extensive root systems help improve soil porosity and also water infiltration leading to better water retention in the soil and their deep roots enable them to be more resilient to drought.

They contribute to nutrient cycling by accessing deeper soil nutrients and bringing them to the surface, making them available for other plants and the dense growth of a mix of perennial grasses and legumes serves to suppress weeds.

Perennial Pastures also sequester carbon in their extensive root systems, helping mitigate climate change and provides habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and other wildlife, enhancing on-farm biodiversity.

Cover crops

Cover Crops essentially provide ground cover during the off-season, preventing soil erosion and improving soil structure by adding organic matter and enhance the soil's water-holding capacity, reducing runoff and increase water availability for subsequent crops.

Cover Crops used as forage offer an additional source of nutrition for livestock during periods when traditional pastures are less productive.

They can lead to higher yields in subsequent crops by improving soil health and fertility, offering long-term economic benefits.

Leguminous cover crops fix atmospheric nitrogen, enriching the soil.

Non-leguminous cover crops can scavenge residual nutrients, preventing leaching and making them available for future crops.

They cover the soil quickly, suppress weeds through competition and allelopathy (release of natural herbicides), attract pollinators and beneficial insects and by adding organic matter to the soil, they increase soil carbon content and improve resilience to extreme weather events.

Choosing a summer mix

Irwin Hunter & Co's Summer Pasture Mixes include Northern Perennial Mix, Southern Perennial Mix and our Cover Crop Plus Summer Mix.

It's important to choose mixes and species that are suited to your growing conditions and location as well as soil type, rainfall, likelihood of frost and your livestock requirements.

Combinations of Perennials and Annuals may suit some farmers enabling them to maximise productivity and provide forage availability over the seasons.

Perennial pastures are mixes of grasses and legumes that supply persistence over several years, providing a more reliable source of forage over time.

They require a year or more to fully establish before grazing and once established will recover well after grazing and have increased drought tolerance.

In WA preferred perennial species may include Rhodes grass, Panic grass, Kikuyu grass, Lucerne, Clovers and certain native species.

It is important to manage Perennial Pastures carefully to maintain production and quality addressing weed control, fertilisation and rotationally grazing.

Northern Perennial Mix

Northern Perennial Mix is a combination of Rhodes grass and Gatton Panic, essentially for areas north of Perth although it is also suitable for southern frost-free areas.

Finecut Rhodes grass, bred from Katambora has fine leaves and stems with a high leaf stem ratio and excellent water efficiency once established.

It offers increased palatability and is an ideal choice for hay and grazing.

Gatton Panic grass is a robust, tufted, medium height bunch grass that is suited to medium fertile soils but with adequate nutrition it will also grow on lighter soils.

Allow to establish well, 8-10 months before first grazing and manage appropriately to retain palatability on a rotational grazing system and do not over graze especially in summer and unless adequate moisture and plant nutrition is available.

Southern Perennial Mix

Southern Perennial Mix a balanced pasture mix of perennial grasses selected for their compatibility and unique adaptations including Kikuyu, Setaria, Rhodes grasses and Panic grass.

Setaria is selected for palatability, increased winter production and frost tolerance and is suited to a wide range of soil types and 700mm+ rainfall.

Setaria responds well to nitrogen and tolerates periods of waterlogging.

Should not be grazed for long periods by horses due to presence of Oxalate.

Kikuyu is a high-quality forage and is highly persistent especially on fertile soils if moisture is available in the summer.

Once established it is very competitive and will effectively reduce soil erosion and suppress weeds.

Kikuyu is moderately drought and frost tolerant, is an excellent ground cover responding well to fertiliser especially in the warmer months.

Rotational grazing management should be followed and monitored to prevent overgrazing to a residue of 12-15 cm allowing adequate recovery.

Cover Crop Plus Summer Mix

Cover Crop Plus Summer Mix is a diverse selection of various summer species that include Chicory, Tillage Radish, Forage Brassica, Millet, Sorghum, Buckwheat, Sunflowers and Cowpeas.

The combined selection of species based on their adaptability to WA conditions from Mediterranean in the Southwest to semi arid and arid in the interior offer biodiversity, high biomass production, deep extensive root systems, nitrogen fixing legumes and drought tolerance resulting in enhanced soil health, improved water management and increase overall agricultural sustainability.

Contact your local farm supplier or Irwin Hunter & Co regarding their extensive range of pasture seed and mixes.