Product Used: Outback Forage Oats
Outback oats proved a great success on the property of Jordan Zerk at Lyndoch in the Barossa Valley of South Australia this season. Mr Zerk sowed 25 acres of Outback oats back in early May which produced four good grazings throughout the season. Sixty breeders and calves grazed the Outback oats from August and again every three weeks for the remainder of the season. The area of Outback oats were planted side-by-side with a crop of Winteroo and Mr Zerk said there was quite a difference between the two varieties. “TheOutbacks had a lot bigger leaf and it took a long time for the heads to come out,” he said. “The cows actually pushed through an electric fence from the Winteroos to get to the Outback oats.”
Outback oats are delayed heading so were able to provide more feed over longer under the good seasonal conditions of the year. Mr Zerk said while the other oat variety finished relatively early in the spring the Outbacks remained green and even took advantage of rainfall in November to produce even more feed. After four grazing the Outback oats came back again and were more than 30cm in height going into the hotter months. The crop was sown at a rate of 50 kilograms per hectare with some DAP for nutrition. It also received a boost with a dose of ProGibb after the second grazing which assisted the crop development. “The Outbacks came up really thick and just wouldn’t stop growing,” Mr Zerk said. He said success of the crop started with good preparation with the soil worked to get rid of the weeds.
Jordan Zerk, Lyndock, Barossa Valley SA
