The day features a site tour of the FEED365 project, led by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) with co-investment from Meat and Livestock Australia’s SheepLinks program and support from the Grower Group Alliance.
Visitors to DPIRD’s Katanning Research Station will be able to inspect a large range of species of perennial pastures, native grasses, annual legumes and herbs, annual grasses, cereals and shrubs.
Various combinations of the crops were established on 48 grazing plots in 2021 to help producers adopt proven forage options to increase the edible feed on offer at critical livestock production periods.
DPIRD senior principal research scientist Daniel Real said the project had demonstrated it was possible to create year-round green feed from forage crops and pastures.
Dr Real said the research would assist growers to adapt to dry seasons by incorporating a combination of forage options to reduce feed costs, while building business resilience and sustainability.
“Despite 2023 being a very dry year, the combination of forage options at the station was able to provide a total of 334 days of grazing during a short growing season with limited summer rainfall,” he said.
“There is no single species solution, rather it’s the combination of forages and when and how long they are grazed that helped to achieve near year-round green feed.
“Every forage treatment has a story behind it – why it was planted, how it was sown and follow up management – to ensure its success.
“This result is encouraging in the face of a difficult year, like the start of 2024, enabling producers to become less dependent on costly supplementary feed – improving productivity and profitability.”
The FEED365 plots were grazed by Merino sheep, which were assessed for weight and condition score responses to the available feed and how that impacts the value of the animal, which will be discussed at the field day.
Project leads will speak on pasture management, grazing management and the best forage systems, while commercial seed suppliers will also be in attendance.
MLA Productivity and Animal Wellbeing group manager David Beatty said field day visitors would be able to see first hand how the FEED365 project was coming along to help inform what species and strategies could benefit their operations.
“The producer network and sites that this project has developed across mixed farming areas in WA is excellent news for producers,” he said.
“The variety and demonstration of pasture options that producers can assess and implement into their own production systems is important from an adoption and impact perspective.”
The FEED365 spring field day 2024 will be held on Tuesday, 17 September at DPIRD’s Katanning Research Station, 453 Katanning-Nyabing Road, from 9.30am – 3pm. Lunch will be provided.
Please register to attend by Friday, 13 September for catering and transport purposes at www.agric.wa.gov.au/FEED365.
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