Product Used: Outback Forage Oats
A first year try at Outback oats produced excellent results on the property of John Basile, of Tatura in the Goulburn Valley of Victoria. Mr Basile said Outback oats was planted into two paddocks on the property, in early May last year, and produced between eight and nine large square bales per acre when cut for hay in November. He said the oaten hay will be sold to local dairy and beef producers and the first year performance of the variety was very encouraging. “I like it. I used to plant Echidna oats and went across to this variety. I was very impressed.”
The quality of the hay was very good with the forage staying a nice green colour and looking very good in the bale. Mr Basile said one of the paddocks had grown ryegrass the previous year and the other had contained an old lucerne stand. He said it was sprayed out in about March and the oats were then direct-drilled into the stubble at a rate of 30 kilograms per hectare. The crop also received 80 kilograms per hectare of MAP at sowing and a decision was made not to irrigate with the seasonal conditions being favourable leading into spring. Moisture was saved due to the ability to direct-drill into the existing pastures without the need to put a plough in the field.
Outback oats is a delayed heading variety which was a feature that allowed it to be left until later in the season before being cut down into a windrow. Mr Basile said he harvested hay for other producers around the area so the maturity of the oats worked well as he could cut it at the milky doe stage after the other work had been completed. “The timing worked really well,” he said.
John Basile, Tatura, Goulburn Valley, Victoria
