QLD farmer uses tropical grasses to transform his pasture profitability
Announcement posted by PGG Wrightson Seeds (Australia) Pty Ltd 10 Sep 2018
A QLD farmer has transformed his cane farm into a thriving cattle business using tropical grasses supplied by proprietary pasture seed company PGG Wrightson Seeds Australia (PGGWSA).
Darryl Trimble and his wife Hannah are cattle graziers on ‘Emerson Park’, 26km South of Proserpine, QLD. Their property was previously a cane farm, but to improve enterprise profitability the couple decided to make the switch to cattle. Over the past seven years they have progressively stripped out their cane stocks using PGG Wrightson Seed products to replenish their pastures.
The property’s challenging growing conditions made choosing the right types of crops essential. As Darryl explains, their soils are deficient in phosphorus, which can limit pasture growth and yields. In addition, their most recent winter has been the worst in nine years, with the farm suffering from unusually low temperatures and frost. And they were also plagued by sicklepod weeds, where seeds can remain viable for up to 10 years.
For these reasons, the couple chose three tropical pastures from PGG Wrightson Seeds to use on their property – Mekong Brizantha, Cardillo Centro and V8 Stylo. Darryl says that “they were all planted for grazing purposes, and initially we mixed the Mekong together with V8, which worked very well. We also chose Cardillo because it’s a high-nitrogen crop that saves me putting nitrogen into the ground as fertiliser.”
Darryl also decided to trial Envirogro, a seed treatment that removes the seed kernel from the husk, reducing weed seed and other waste material to improve the quality and flow during sowing. It’s ideal for tropical seeds, and the process can have a noticeable impact on germination and growth rates.
Darryl reports exceptional pasture benefits from all three of his tropical pastures. “They’ve demonstrated a very fast strike rate, quick growth, impressive ground cover, and the weight gain in our cattle has been really good. In a very wet year, our cattle don’t tend to do great, but this year they’ve put on more weight than any previous year. Our most recent seven-month F1 Wagyu calves came in at over 200kg – and nutrition-wise they’ve looked great.”
Darryl also found that his Mekong pasture proved more than able to handle a bit of waterlogging. “The volume of feed I get out of it is unbelievable, even in wet conditions. It’s a nice soft leaf, and we find that it’s optimised when cattle take the tops off, then we rotate and let them go back to it in about 5 weeks time.”
The V8 has been a similar success story. “It’s proven to be fantastic at choking out weeds, and it’s very reliable during the dry season, producing an incredible amount of feed this year, and growing over seven feet high in some places.”
Even Cardillo has been worth its weight in gold. “The Cardillo has been a great grower. We threw 1kg into an area approximately the size of a house, and it has now spread to the size of two football fields!”
Darryl was also impressed by the results achieved with Envirogro. As he described, “the process has resulted in a better strike rate, plus the ants don’t eat the seeds nearly as much. I’ve also noticed that seedlings look a lot healthier when they come up.”
For Darryl, there’s no doubt that introducing these types of grasses has resulted in a healthier, more profitable farm. “I’d definitely recommend these tropical grasses. I’ve had so many people comment that we should get more cattle, so we can fully capitalise on the large amount of feed we’ve got. That to me is a great sign that our feed program is thriving, and these grasses have given us fantastic results in what can often be a challenging growing environment.”
PGG Wrightson Seeds agronomists can help farmers create custom mixes and blends to suit any situation. Please visit www.pggwrightsonseeds.com.au to learn more about their tropical seeds, and to find an agronomist in your area.
- Ends -
For media enquiries:
C7EVEN Communications
Kate Munsie, 02 6766 4513
kate.munsie@c7even.com.au
Photo captions:
Darryl Trimble and his wife Hannah are cattle graziers on ‘Emerson Park’, 26km South of Proserpine, QLD. Their property was previously a cane farm, but to improve enterprise profitability the couple decided to make the switch to cattle. Over the past seven years they have progressively stripped out their cane stocks using PGG Wrightson Seed products to replenish their pastures.
The property’s challenging growing conditions made choosing the right types of crops essential. As Darryl explains, their soils are deficient in phosphorus, which can limit pasture growth and yields. In addition, their most recent winter has been the worst in nine years, with the farm suffering from unusually low temperatures and frost. And they were also plagued by sicklepod weeds, where seeds can remain viable for up to 10 years.
For these reasons, the couple chose three tropical pastures from PGG Wrightson Seeds to use on their property – Mekong Brizantha, Cardillo Centro and V8 Stylo. Darryl says that “they were all planted for grazing purposes, and initially we mixed the Mekong together with V8, which worked very well. We also chose Cardillo because it’s a high-nitrogen crop that saves me putting nitrogen into the ground as fertiliser.”
Darryl also decided to trial Envirogro, a seed treatment that removes the seed kernel from the husk, reducing weed seed and other waste material to improve the quality and flow during sowing. It’s ideal for tropical seeds, and the process can have a noticeable impact on germination and growth rates.
Darryl reports exceptional pasture benefits from all three of his tropical pastures. “They’ve demonstrated a very fast strike rate, quick growth, impressive ground cover, and the weight gain in our cattle has been really good. In a very wet year, our cattle don’t tend to do great, but this year they’ve put on more weight than any previous year. Our most recent seven-month F1 Wagyu calves came in at over 200kg – and nutrition-wise they’ve looked great.”
Darryl also found that his Mekong pasture proved more than able to handle a bit of waterlogging. “The volume of feed I get out of it is unbelievable, even in wet conditions. It’s a nice soft leaf, and we find that it’s optimised when cattle take the tops off, then we rotate and let them go back to it in about 5 weeks time.”
The V8 has been a similar success story. “It’s proven to be fantastic at choking out weeds, and it’s very reliable during the dry season, producing an incredible amount of feed this year, and growing over seven feet high in some places.”
Even Cardillo has been worth its weight in gold. “The Cardillo has been a great grower. We threw 1kg into an area approximately the size of a house, and it has now spread to the size of two football fields!”
Darryl was also impressed by the results achieved with Envirogro. As he described, “the process has resulted in a better strike rate, plus the ants don’t eat the seeds nearly as much. I’ve also noticed that seedlings look a lot healthier when they come up.”
For Darryl, there’s no doubt that introducing these types of grasses has resulted in a healthier, more profitable farm. “I’d definitely recommend these tropical grasses. I’ve had so many people comment that we should get more cattle, so we can fully capitalise on the large amount of feed we’ve got. That to me is a great sign that our feed program is thriving, and these grasses have given us fantastic results in what can often be a challenging growing environment.”
PGG Wrightson Seeds agronomists can help farmers create custom mixes and blends to suit any situation. Please visit www.pggwrightsonseeds.com.au to learn more about their tropical seeds, and to find an agronomist in your area.
- Ends -
For media enquiries:
C7EVEN Communications
Kate Munsie, 02 6766 4513
kate.munsie@c7even.com.au
Photo captions:
- Darryl Trimble with his V8 Stylo crop
- V8 Stylo crop