Diverse forage crops – farmer experience and examples

Toolbox
Written By Nick Tucker
 
 

When looking for species mixes and establishment techniques that suit your context, it can be hard to know where to start, or what’s possible. So farmers from around New Zealand have generously shared their most successful mixes, approaches and results to both inspire and inform what might best work for you…

Please explore the examples below!

And if you’d like to contribute your own example of a diverse forage crop, please click this link to fill in the form with details of your crop, or email sam@quorumsense.org.nz

 

Mark Koopmans
Canterbury

 

Paddock details

Goals: To produce high quality feed for lambs / calves over summer, and having it regrow back for autumn / winter. Plus keeping the soil healthy.

Location: Canterbury

Soil type: Silt loam on loess over sandstone

Soil Condition: Good

Soil Fertility: Moderate

Stock grazing the pasture: Lambs and calves

Pasture establishment

Objectives:
• Rape for bulk feed quality Italian for grazing afterwards
• Plaintain for feed quality / anthelmintic properties and rooting depth (plus plantain just grows well at our place)
• The flowers for bees and birds
• Sunflowers for compaction if it’s there
• Linseed, it just grows well
• Buckwheat for phosphorus availability (unlock P in soil)
• Ryecorn for bulk
• Legumes for nitrogen

Seed cost ($/ha): $470/ha

Timing: Late spring

Reason for re-sowing at this time: Ryegrass ex-kale paddock

Method of establishment: Grazed hard, sprayed three days after stock left (1.5L/ha lion490, with 1.0L/ha EMFulvic), then direct drilled day after spraying (or close to that).

Fertiliser/biologicals: None other than EMFulvic

Seed mix and rates (kg/ha)

Legumes:
Phacelia
Red clover
Crimson clover
Common vetch
Tick beans (Faba)

Herbs:
Plantain

Brassicas:
Radish
Rape
Raphno

Grasses:
Italian ryegrass

Cereals:
Buckwheat
Oats

Other:
Linseed
Rycorn

Total mix sowed at 52.26kg/ha

Outcomes and results

Observations:
The closer the time between spraying and drilling the better, ie between one day and seven days is best. We have had success three weeks out, but weeds can become a problem then.

Livestock performance:
Lambs grew avg of 250g/day and calves 700g/day. Compared to other crops seems pretty comparable, definitely not less. Had less deaths on the crop though, eg loosing lambs on a monoculture crop often happened.

Pasture productivity and resilience:
Above what we expected!!! Grew estimate of 15t/ha over a year across multiple grazings. Utilised about 10-11t/ha.

“Crop performance? Better than expected!!! Grew estimate of 15t/ha over a year across multiple grazings. Utilised about 10-11t/ha.”

Mark Koopmans, Canterbury beef and sheep farmer

Post grazing , showing trampled litter.

Clare Buchanan
Canterbury

 

Paddock details

Goals: Improve soil condition and structure, set up for perennial mix.

Location: Canterbury

Soil Type: Mayf_2a.1

Soil Condition: Compacted

Soil Fertility: High

Stock grazing the pasture: Dairy cows

 

Pasture establishment

Objectives: Seed species and rates chosen for having a range of functional groups present, flowering species, legumes. This mix was designed by Symbiosis.

Seed cost ($/ha): $387

Timing: Late spring

Reason for re-sowing at this time: (information not available)

Method of establishment: Spray and direct drill

Fertiliser/biologicals:
Fish fertiliser
humic + fulvic acid
No synthetic fertiliser

Seed mix and rates (kg/ha)

Legumes:
Allure persian clover (0.1)
Crimson clover (1.0)
Tic beans (15.0)
Lupins (2.0)
Phacelia (1.0)
Common vetch (12.0)

Herbs:
Punter chicory 1.0
Plantain 2.0

Brassicas:
MD kale (2.0)
Major Plus swede (0.2)

Grasses:
Winfield ryegrass (2.4)

Cereals:
Black oats (15.0)
Buckwheat (7.0)

Other:
Rycorn (10.0)
Sunflower (2.0)

Outcomes and results

Observations: Very successful.

Pasture productivity and resilience: Grew well, great diversity, lots of insects, great way to shift feed.

Livestock performance: Cows seemed to enjoy it, no noticeable change in milk production.

“Grew well, great diversity, lots of insects, great way to shift feed.”

Clare Buchanan, Canterbury dairy farmer

David Mitchell
TBC

 

Paddock details

Goals: Single graze winter grazing.

Location: TBC

Soil type: Heavy tar

Soil condition: Post spring barley

Soil fertility: High

Stock grazing the pasture: Yearling cattle

Pasture establishment

Objectives: Kale for fast ground cover because it grows down to 2 degree C soil temp. Beans and vetch for N fixation.

Seed cost ($/ha): $130

Timing: Summer

Reason for re-sowing at this time: (information not available)

Method of establishment: Shallow-incorpate straw, then drill roll.

Fertiliser/biologicals: 1 x application of N Mgsul Fish and Biological soil and seed

Seed mix and rates (kg/ha)

Legumes:
Phacelia (0.5)
Beans (10.0)
Vetch (8.0)

Brassicas:
Tillage radish (1.0)
Kale (3.0)

Grasses:
Short rotation grass (6.0)

Cereals:
Triticale (15.0)

Results and outcomes

Observations:
The legumes provided 95% of the N to break down all the straw establish and grow the crop.

Pasture productivity and resilience:
Yes slow but performed as expected.

Livestock performance: 60g LWG/day

 

“The legumes provided 95% of the N to break down all the straw establish and grow the crop.”

David Mitchell, farmer

Deane Parker
Canterbury

 

Paddock details

Goals: Provide winter feed for dairy herd.

Location: Cantebury

Soil type: Lismore / Ayre shallow loams

Soil condition: Pugged from previous wintering

Soil fertility: Moderate

Stock grazing the pasture: Dairy cows

Pasture establishment

Objectives: The goal is to be brassica dominant.

Seed cost ($/ha): (information not available)

Timing: (information not available)

Reason for re-sowing at this time: (information not available)

Method of establishment: (information not available)

Fertiliser/biologicals: (information not available)

Seed mix and rates (kg/ha)

Legumes:
Crimson clover (4.0)
Hairy vetch (1.0)
Phacelia (0.75)

Brassica:
Kale (3.0)

Cereals:
Buckwheat (2.0)
White oats (15.0)

Grasses:
Shogun ryegrass (8.0)

Other:
Sunflower (2.0)

Results and outcomes

Observations:
(information not available)

Pasture productivity and resilience:
(information not available)

Livestock performance:
(information not available)

 

“[quote to follow].”

Deane Parker, Canterbury dairy farmer

Dennis Nieuwkoop
Manawatu

 

Paddock details

Goals: Regenerate hill country pasture and soil.

Location: Manawatu

Soil type: Tokomaru clay loam

Soil condition: Compacted, thatchy and wet.

Soil fertility: Low

Stock grazing the pasture: Bulls

Pasture establishment

Objectives: Seed mix chosen based on what suited both environment and aspect - only able to get on ground in late spring / early summer.

Seed cost ($/ha): $350

Timing: Summer

Reason for re-sowing at this time: (information not available)

Method of establishment: Chip hoe (no spray), grub, level and drill.

Fertiliser/biologicals: Lime, quano phosphate, magnesium, boron, humate, copper, cobalt, selenium blend plus urea, followed with fish blend post emergence.

Seed mix and rates (kg/ha)

Legumes:
Red clover (3.0)
White clover (2.0)
Sub clover (1.0)
Crimson clover (2.0)

Herbs:
Chicory (3.0)
Plantain (1.0)

Brassicas:
Forage rape (2.0)
Turnip (1.0)
Daikon radish (1.0)

Grasses:
Perennial ryegrass (8.0)
Italian ryegrass (4.0)
Timothy (1.0)
Fescue (4.0)
Cocksfoot (3.0)

Results and outcomes

Observations:
A minimum till approach worked well (with no chemical) to maintain topsoil and fertility but to break up the thatchy browntop base with shallow chip hoeing. Required a little top up of seed following autumn where the brassica smothered the perennials.

Pasture productivity and resilience:
Exceeded expectations considering the medium to steep hill paddock.

Livestock performance:
Good healthy livestock with average wieght gains of around 1kg LWG/day.

 

“Exceeded expectations considering the medium to steep hill paddock. Good healthy livestock with average wieght gains of around 1kg LWG/day.”

Dennis Nieuwkoop, Manawatu beef farmer

Post grazing residuals.

 

← View all Quorum Sense Toolbox items

(Note: Click on any underlined in blue word(s) in the text below to open a definition of that term).

Disclaimer: The information, opinions and ideas presented in this content is for information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Any reliance on the content provided is done at your own risk. (click here to view full disclaimer).

Toolbox index

Nick Tucker
Previous

Potential risks associated with diverse cover crops, diverse pastures and diverse forage crops
Next

Diverse pastures – farmer experience and examples