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Grain & Graze Trial Results from 2006

Animal Production From Sowing Cereals Into Established Lucerne During Winter - Woorndoo, Victoria

Location:
“Bolac Plains”, Woorndoo, Victoria

Researchers:
David Watson, Agvise Services,
David Jamieson, Bolac Plains, Cam Nicholson, Grain and Graze

Author:
Cam Nicholson, G&G

Funding:
Grain and Graze

Acknowledgements:
David Jamison for his willingness to provide the resources needed to conduct this trial.

Background/Objectives:
Work conducted at Woorndoo in 2005 showed cereals could be successfully sown into existing lucerne to increase the amount of winter feed. They key findings were:

• Cereals increased overall winter production by 15 to 40 % over lucerne only depending on the variety used.
• Barley and oats gave the greatest early growth, with wheat and triticale providing greater late winter / spring feed.
• Lucerne production over summer was not compromised by the winter cereal as long as it was removed by early / mid spring (in this case by heavy grazing).

The results clearly showed the potential of cereals to provide high quality feed in winter but the challenge is to turn this extra feed into saleable products. In 2006 a trial was established with the aim of maximising total animal production from the cereal / lucerne combination. It was compared to similar paddocks that contained lucerne only.

Rainfall (mm): 167mm during the trial period

* Up to October 20th

Trial Inputs And Design

The cereal treatment comprised of 3 paddocks each of approximately 6 ha each.

In each paddock one cereal was direct drilled on May 3 into the lucerne with 100 kg/ha MAP

Paddock 1: Triticale var Monstress @ 90 kg/ha
Paddock 2: Barley var Gairdner @ 80 kg/ha
Paddock 3: Oats, var Saia @ 80 kg/ha

This was compared to three lucerne only paddocks of equivalent area. These areas received 100kg/ha MAP as a top dressing on May 29th .

First cross single lambing ewes entered the trial at point of lambing (31/07/06). They were divided into two mobs and then set stocked to match a pre-determined stocking rate. After lambing had finished (5 weeks), the three ewe mobs grazing the cereals were boxed together and started rotational grazing of the treatments (approximately weekly shifts). The ewes on the lucerne only were also boxed together and commenced rotational grazing on weekly shifts.

Due to extremely dry conditions the trial was ended prematurely on October 9th.

Livestock details are presented (Table 2‑1)

Table 2-1: Livestock And Stocking Rate

Summary Of Findings:

The sowing of a cereal into an established lucerne stand increased lamb production by 31% and returned a gross margin improvement of $136/ha. This result is more remarkable given the extremely dry seasonal conditions.

The per hectare gain was achieved by small increases in stocking rate (9.4%), lambing percentage (7.4%) and liveweight gain of the lambs (12%). In isolation these individual results would be far less profitable however the combination of the three results in a significant gain.

Figure 8-1: Feed On Offer In The Lucerne/Cereal And Lucerne Only Treatments

Direct drilling the cereal into lucerne increased the available drymatter on offer before the trial was stocked (Figure 8‑1). This justified the increase in stocking rate on the lucerne/cereal treatment.

During lambing (the set stocking period), the amount of feed on offer was greater in the lucerne/cereal paddocks. However once the rotation began, the feed on offer was similar on both the lucerne/cereal and the lucerne only.

The quality of the feed also changed over time. Protein levels declined in both the lucerne/cereal and lucerne only treatments (Figure 8‑2). However the amount of energy in the lucerne only during the grazing period was consistently higher than the lucerne/cereal (Figure 8‑3).

Figure 8-2: Crude Protein In The Lucerne/Cereal And Lucerne Only Treatments

Figure 8-3: Energy In The Lucerne/Cereal And Lucerne Only Treatments

Animal Performance

Ewes and lambs grazing the lucerne/cereal treatment recorded a substantial increase in liveweight production per hectare compared to the control. Increases over the lucerne only were recorded for both the ewes and lambs.

Lamb production was 385 kg/ha at the end of the grazing period, a 92 kg/ha increase over the lucerne only treatment. This increase was achieved through:

• A 9.5% increase in stocking rate (15 ewes/ha compared to 13.7 ewes/ha) that led to more lambs per hectare.
• A 7.4% increase in lambs per ewe at marking
• Superior growth of the lambs which resulted in lamb being 2.7kg or 12% heavier at marking.

Ewe bodyweight was also superior for the ewes grazing the lucerne/cereal. At the end of the trial the ewes were 5.3 kg heavier compared to only 2.9 kg heavier on the lucerne only grazing. This is 83% better than the control.

The total liveweight change of the ewes and lambs was 40% higher on the lucerne/cereal treatment. Details are presented (Table 8‑2).

Financial return

A simple gross margin was calculated to determine the potential financial benefit from sowing cereal into lucerne. Input costs included seed and sowing costs (as the fertiliser used at sowing was also topdressed on the lucerne only paddock). The returns were valued in terms of lamb prices and the grain required achieving an increase in ewe liveweight of 2.4 kg (to get a lactating ewe to gain an extra 2.4 kg over 70 days would require an additional energy intake of 1.9 MJ/ME/hd/day. This is the equivalent of 11.2 kg of barley per head (barley at 12 MJ ME/kg).

Costs:
Seed: $16/ha
Sowing $14/ha
TOTAL $30/ha

Returns:

Ewes
11.2 kg barley @ $160/tonne = $1.88 per ewe
Stocking rate of 15 ewes/ha = $28.20/ha

Lambs
92 kg liveweight @ $1.60/kg = $147.80/ha

Total returns = $176

Gross margin: $146.00/ha

Table 8-2: Animal Performance

  Photo 12: Sheep Grazing Cereals (click on image to enlarge view)