trials

• To measure the productivity and recovery of cereals under simulated grazing regimes.
• To determine the number of times cereals can be grazed without affecting yield.

To assess the impact of (and interaction between) grazing and frost damage on the grain yield and quality of a range of winter and spring cereal varieties sown at two times of sowing.

To assess the impact of sheep grazing over summer on crop residues, soil quality and no-tillage crop establishment and yields.

Demonstration to evaluate new forage options against commonly used graze and grain options.

To understand how a range of pasture types combine to form a whole farm feed supply.

To determine the effect grazing barley has on grain yield.

• To determine whether sheep graze on matricaria (palatability of the weed) in a mixed species pasture and if so at which growth stages is the weed palatable.
• Estimate the feed value of matricaria at various growth stages compared to other available feed.
• Evaluate the use of MCPA to increase matricaria palatability.
• Evaluate the efficacy of late flowering mowing or weed wiping to control matricaria compared to district practice of spray topping.

This Demonstration forms part of the Grain & Graze II project looking at the relative merits of grazing canola and cereal crops. This demonstration looks to assess whether the effects of grazing wheat with sheep during the growing season. Factors being assessed are Yield & quality, dry matter production and grazing value.

To demonstrate the feed value of high biomass summer forage crops for increasing stocking rates and live weight gain of prime lambs and beef cattle compared to current systems used in the high rainfall zone. 

To value-add to grazing crops as frost mitigation tool by investigating the interaction of time x height of (simulated) grazing on wheat crop recovery and delay in flowering window.

To demonstrate the impacts of degree and timing of grazing of crops on yield.

To test the following hypotheses:
1. Low plant density will not reduce yield of early April sown wheat
2. Delayed nitrogen application will not affect grain yield
3. Agronomy can offset yield reductions from grazing wheat sown in early April

To assess whether the effects of grazing wheat with sheep during the growing season. Factors being assessed are yield and quality, dry matter production and grazing value.

To understand how a range of pasture types combine to form a whole farm feed supply.

To assess whether the effects of grazing canola with sheep during the growing season: factors being assessed are yield and quality, dry matter production and grazing value.

To assess whether the effects of grazing wheat with sheep during the growing season. Factors being assessed are yield and quality, dry matter production and grazing value.

To value-add to grazing crops as frost mitigation tool by investigating the interaction of time x height of (simulated) grazing on wheat crop recovery and delay in flowering window.

To investigate the impacts of degree and timing of grazing on crop yield.

To demonstrate the growth rates and carrying capacities of new pasture species and to show options available for improving pasture productivity.

To assess the grazing opportunity of Moby Barley.

• To measure the productivity and recovery of cereals under simulated grazing regimes.
• To determine the number of times cereals can be grazed without affecting yield.

To determine the impact that grazing of crops in winter had on subsequent grain yield and quality, production factors such as weeds, disease and nutrition, and livestock carrying capacity.

To examine if winter cereals can be successfully sown into exiting lucerne stands to lift winter production but without compromising lucerne production the following summer.

Determine the value of Wedgetail wheat for yearling steers. Determine the impact of grazing on the grain yeld of wedgetail wheat.

To evaluate the impact of grazing intensity on forage value, crop recovery and grain production of a wheat crop in the Victorian Mallee.

To evaluate how new and existing wheat and barley varieties respond to grazing and post-grazing nitrogen (N) application rates.

To measure effect of gibberellic acid application and grazing timings on the biomass production and feed quality of oats.

To investigate whether higher fertiliser rates profitably produced greater amounts of better quality pasture than when district average fertiliser rates are used.

To evaluate a range of forage shrubs in the Victorian Mallee environment in terms of plant survival, canopy development, health, edible biomass, seedling recruitment and performance under grazing.

To discuss how to achieve a dense medic dominant pasture.

To explore the use of perennial shrubs as a feed source for profitable and sustainable grazing systems in low-to-medium rainfall areas of hte Mallee.

To determine the effect of grazing on grain yield of Naparoo wheat

To determine the effect of final grain yield from grazing canola grown for grian and fodder.

The aim of better grazing systems in the low rainfall wheat/sheep zone should be to increase pasture returns without negative effects on the cropping phase.

To evaluate a vigorous hybrid canola variety in a low rainfall Mallee environment for its grazing value at different growth stages, and its ability to recover from grazing.

To assess the yield and grain quality effect of grazing on currently grown commercial cereal varieties via paddock scale demonstrations in the Rainbow district.

To validate the effect of grazing intensity and growth stage on forage value and yield response of different wheat varieties, with sowing times suited to cultivar.

The key aims of this project have been to develop agronomic guidelines and seeding technology solutions to allow for increased stubble retention practices, thereby reducing the dependence on burning. 

• To assess the ability of conventionally sown Hindmarsh barley crops at Jil Jil and Nullawil to recover from grazing, the effects on straw and grain yield production and on grain quality.
• To consider the place of early sown feed versus grazing crops in low rainfall farming systems.

To comare the dry matter production available for forage and plant recovery after grazing of the forage barley variety Moby with that of Hindmarsh barley and Correll wheat.

• To examine the potential for both grain and forage cereal crops to supply feed for grazing enterprises.
• To determine the effects of grazing on grain yield and quality to help build informed decisions about when to graze crops to ensure maximum profit

To monitor the feed value and grain production from different types of grazed cereal crops in Northern Victoria.

The integration of cropping and grazing remains a major management challenge in the Mallee. Technology such as portable fencing systems and virtual fencing potentially offer a solution to improve grazing management in large Mallee paddocks with high soil variability. However, to effectively design and deploy these innovative grazing techniques, the grazing behaviour of livestock in these paddocks needs to be understood and quantified.

To understand the grazing behavior of livestock in paddocks to utilise technology such as portable fencing systems.

To test whether soil fertility and health could be improved under a higher input system compared with a lower input and more traditional system.

• To quantify the amount of high quality feed that can be grown before GS 30
• To identify the difference growth patterns of two winter wheat varieties
• To quantify the grain yield and stubble mass changes due to grazing

To discuss the integration of livestock into the cropping program.

• To evaluate the fit of commonly used and non commercial (dual purpose) canola varieties in Southern Victoria under a range of sowing dates.
• To quantify the yield response of canola to a range of grazing conditions.
• To develop grazing principles for canola in the high rainfall zone.
   

To reports on the results of our “best bet” approach to making grazing canola work in our unique region.