Catchment:
|
Namoi
|
Collaborating Producer:
|
Brett and Bernadette Holz
|
Location:
|
‘Roane’, Willow Tree, NSW
|
Producer Group:
|
Willow Tree Landscan Producer Group
|
Site Co-ordinator:
|
Simon Turpin
Catchment Officer, Namoi CMA
P: (02) 67 429 212
E: simon.turpin@cma.nsw.gov.au
|
Production and Environmental Challenges
|
|
Production: Successful pasture establishment, using the right grazing management to maximise profitability of tropical grass pasture.
Environmental: Soil erosion and soil health.
|
Innovation being tested:
|
|
This Support Site is looking at the establishment and grazing management of tropical grass pastures in north-west NSW.
|
Base pasture:
|
|
10kg/Ha coated seed
Bambatsi Panic 45%
Gatton Panic 45%
Katambora Rhodes 10%
100kg/Ha Granulock 15 fert
|
Animal systems:
|
|
Beef cattle
|
Latest Results:
This is a newly established Support Site – monitoring to start soon.
Brett and Bernadette Holz have have made good use of favourable warm season conditions in establishing a tropical perennial pasture on 25 hectares of undulating country on their property ‘Roane’ at Willow Tree. The Holz’s were originally cropping this 25 ha but found they where running into soil erosion problems due to a lack of groundcover and erodible nature of the heavy, self mulching soils. The tropical pasture was successfully sown in early November 2009 and will be fertilised and have pasture legumes added over winter. The paddock will then be split into four treatments so that different grazing and fertiliser management can be investigated.
‘We had initially planned to sow lucerne on the site but changed our minds because of previous soil erosion problems associated with summer storms. The lucerne was just not going to offer enough protection to the soil because of its low groundcover. So we decided to sow tropical perennial grasses to get something established that would have at least 70% groundcover year round” said Brett.
For more information, download the case study here.
|
