Product Used: Cavalier Spineless Burr Medic
A 50 hectare paddock of Cavalier spineless burr medic has proved an excellent rotation option on the Wallaloo Park Stud property of Trent Carter at Marnoo, in Victoria. Mr Carter sowed the paddock to medic in April 2009 at a rate of 8 kilograms per hectare. Medic was essentially used as a break crop to provide herbicide options to control brome grass and to also fix nitrogen in the soil for the following crops. “The weed burden in the paddock was high,” Mr Carter said. After the Cavalier established well it was allowed to go to seed and at the end of 2009 and set up the paddock for a productive result in 2010.
An early break led to good growth and the opportunity to graze the paddock from March through to August with a set stocking rate of approximately eight rams per acre (20 rams per hectare). “We hit it quite hard,” Mr Carter said. “It got away from the animals. They did extremely well.” He said in the future he would also look at drilling some annual ryegrass into the stand to bulk it up early in the season. “I would also look at strip grazing the paddock to make the most out of it.” The Cavalier paddock was shut up in August and then cut for hay in mid-October. Mr Carter said they achieved an excellent yield of 5 tonnes per hectare of hay from the paddock and sold the produce off-farm. He said the forage was hit by rain when it was on the ground but still produced hay of very good quality. “It held onto its colour well – better than vetch and other crops we’ve tried.”
Trent Carter, Marnoo VIC
