Local Land Services put dual purpose crops to the test

Local Land Services and the Department of Primary Industries invited an intimate group of growers, agronomists and sales representatives to their Purlewaugh and Bogan Gate sites ahead of harvest.

A total of 18 varieties of oats, wheat, barley and triticale were sown on April 8 and 9 on half hectare to assess their agronomic weed benefits and increased gross margins

Planet barley was among them after growers in the region expressed their plans to sow it for quick feed instead of oats, wheat and barley which were short in supply.

Some had indicated their plans to graze and then lock it up for grain despite the risk of frost at the end of the season.

As expected, it led the race for dry matter during the first cut at Purlewaugh on June 10 but it was already starting to run up to head and didn't perform as highly during the second cut on August 4.

Central West Local Land Services senior land services officer for mixed farming Callen Thompson said the trial showed Planet wasn't suitable as a dual purpose variety, particularly during the early sowing window.

"It was a really good option for producers who were chasing fast feed and a lot of it," he said.

Also of interest was EGA Wedgetail, a popular choice in the district despite being susceptible to rust. A potential replacement may have been found in Illabo, which had similar dry matter and better disease resistance.

Triticale varieties also produced a good amount of dry matter with Kokoda by far the superior performer at the Bogan Gate site.

Mr Thompson said they were a good option for people with acidic or high aluminium soils but it was important to secure markets before rushing to plant.

"There is a lot more interest in silage at the moment and potentially some of these triticale varieties could be used in silage," he said.

"Some of the new varieties again have improved disease packages. It'd be good to see a few more of those out there.

"Storage is always an issue with them because it seems every insect loves to eat them when they are in storage. Growers need to take that into account."

Cattle were on the trial sites twice, but the final graze was pushed back due to rain and the crops progressing faster in the warmer winter.

As a result yields are expected to be less at Purlewaugh than Bogan Gate.

It did however show the flexibility of dual purpose crops.

If growers monitored the growth stage of their crop, they could make decisions accordingly.

"We took the thought that beef and lamb prices were quite high, grain prices at the time weren't so high, and we thought most producers would do the same thing that we did," Mr Thompson said.

"It's really important to know the growth stage of your crop and pull stock out on time if grain production is one of your priorities."

When it comes to grazing, it was recommended introducing stock to a crop slowly for a couple of hours in the afternoon when they do 30 per cent of their grazing.

During a seven to 10 day introduction period stock should also have access to good or medium quality hay in the paddock.

Winter wheat grains could be maximised by 50 per cent if producers provided lime, salt and magnesium mineral supplementation.

Senior Land Services Officer for Livestock, Dr Sue Street, reminded producers to be wary of the energy and protein levels coming out of drought.

"What they found in the millennial drought was the energy and protein levels were about one to two units lower compared to non drought years," she said.

"So just be really wary that your nutrition in your grains might not be there particularly in the barley coming out of this drought so if you aren't sure we do recommend getting feed tests.

"We don't want you guys to be missing out too much."

The final data will be released by Local Land Services but growers were reminded to use the information as an indicator and pick varieties that suited their operation.