Forage sorghum planted last October in place of another crop turned out to be a lucky switch for a wheat, barley and beef farmer near Somerton, NSW.
John Barnier, at Eastbourne between Tamworth and Gunnedah, made a last-minute decision in spring to plant a prepared block of 32ha with S&W Chomper forage sorghum rather than the previously-planned wheat variety when challenging weather conditions endured late last year.
"We'd had some rain in the prior six months, so the sub-soil moisture was pretty good," " Mr Barnier said.
"However, it was a horrible season, with the least rain for many years.
"The paddock was all prepared but stayed much too dry for that wheat to go in, so we decided to trial Chomper."
Within 60 days, the block had taken off, and Mr Barnier cut 287 bales of valuable feed as 550kg square hay bales.
"Conditions are pretty ordinary around here, to say the least," he said.
"We planted no wheat at all last year, and the barley had to go in really late.
"So having this sorghum turned out to be quite a winner.
"We sold some and kept the rest for our own stock and were pretty happy to have it on hand in such a tough season."
S&W Seed Company produces a range of premium seed varieties suited to Australian conditions including lucerne, forage sorghum, sunflower, and other key crop varieties.
- Contact: sales.aus@swseedco.com
