Multi-species Pasture Cropping

3 posts
Thu, 08/03/2017 - 19:20 #1

Member for

8 years 4 months
Tallanalla
Last seen: 03/26/2018 - 15:46
Joined: 07/06/2016 - 08:40

Multi-species Pasture Cropping

We are brand new farmers in the hills of south west WA and want to adopt regenerative farming practices. We have heard about multi-species pasture cropping and are getting started with this on our farm. We will use a no-till disc seeder to spread the seed but are unsure of what mix to use? We have dorper/damara sheep as well as a small number of friesian steers that will all be rotationally grazed. We want to sow native perenial grasses as well as a mix of things like black medic, hairy vetch, sunflowers, corn, chickory and plantain so they grow throughout spring and summer. Does anyone out there know where in WA we could get these types of seeds and also is it good to mix so many differnt varieties of plants together in the one paddock?

Thanks in advance!

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Thu, 08/17/2017 - 11:33 #2
admin
Last seen: 11/13/2024 - 10:09
Joined: 02/28/2011 - 14:19

Hi Tallanalla,

Welcome to the small farming forum, it is lovely to have you as part of the community.

Pasture cropping is the sowing of an annual crop (usually oats, wheat or barley) into an existing dormant native pasture. Below is some further information on pasture cropping

http://www.pasturecropping.com/pasture-cropping

I would not recommend sowing a native perennial pasture into an existing pasture, the native pasture seed is very expensive and difficult to handle. You would be better to try and work with your existing native species and try to build those up.

You can buy the range of species you require from any local rural retail store, please be aware that some of the species (sunflowers) you are looking at sowing are temperature sensitive and will not germinate until the soil temperature is above 16-18 degrees.

Before you sow anything, I would recommend starting with a soil test, to assess the soils current pH and nutrient levels.

http://farmstyle.com.au/book/soil-test-interpretation-results-fertiliser-recommendation-pastures-crops-and-horticulture-0

Regards,

Charlie

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Tue, 10/19/2021 - 12:17 #3
notill_paul
Last seen: 10/19/2021 - 22:40
Joined: 10/11/2021 - 13:54

Great work adopting regenerative farming practices. If you are concerned about the price of purchasing an expensive disc machine, you could consider retrofitting an older machine. Check out RYANNT Retrofit Discs and Press Wheels which are an affordable option to get your machine in line with regenerative farming practices. Check it out here:
Press wheels: https://ryannt.com.au/irrj
Retrofit Double Discs: https://ryannt.com.au/yq4r

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