Landholders interested in maximising production from native and introduced tropical pastures will be very interested in the opportunity to attend a Pasture Update field day at Rocky Dam on August 31.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Northern Tablelands Local Land Services is hosting the event on the properties ‘Cooranga’ and ‘Blue Nobby Station’ to give landholders a palette of information from a variety of technical experts.
“We organise on-farm pasture updates, tailored to the graziers of specific areas in our region,” Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Mixed Farming Officer, Glen Uebergang said.
“Our messages at the field day will be in the context of what our seasonal conditions are presenting, or likely to be going forward.”
Glen said with predicted drier-than-average conditions approaching spring, it was even more important to implement the most effective grazing management.
He explained that producers don’t want to overgraze pastures as this will compromise their future growth and persistence. It’s important to consider residual dry matter, amount of litter and percentage of ground cover when assessing pastures.
Glen will discuss soil fertility, and Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Livestock Officer Jason Siddell, will cover grazing management and other livestock considerations to maximise production from your pastures.
If graziers seek to boost their paddock potential, Glen said tropical grass species do well in the Rocky Dam area.
“Their active growing period is in the warmer months of the year. They are capable of producing enormous amounts of feed,” he said.
“So if anyone is looking to establish a tropical pasture in this coming season, Tony Stewart from Heritage Seeds will cover the key points that producers need to address to increase the likeliness of successful tropical pasture establishment,” Glen said.
Glen said Local Land Services strive to offer producers and landholders options for more sustainable and profitable land management. Introducing suitable legumes to a pasture to fix critical nitrogen, contribute to groundcover and provide high value feed is an example of this.
NSW Department of Primary Industries Research Agronomist Carol Harris will present legume options for producers in the area. Carol has invested over two decades in pasture improvement, and has published prolifically on the topics of pasture persistence and varietal studies, specifically for northern NSW.
Chris Perceval from Northern Tablelands Local Land Services will offer information on the management of areas infested with Mimosa bush.
Glen said as an added bonus to this field day, Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Aboriginal Communities Officer, Harry White, will be in attendance to answer questions about sites discovered on properties. Glen said many people are aware of sites and artefacts on their properties, but are unsure what to do about them.
The Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Rocky Dam Pasture Update is on Thursday 31 August from 9.30am-3pm.
There is no cost to participants, lunch will be provided and car-pooling is encouraged. To book or for more information, contact Glen Uebergang on 0429 217 066.
