Product Used: Bouncer Hybrid Forage Brassica
The addition of Bouncer hybrid forage brassica to the feed program of Tony Torpy, of Newlyn located north-east of Ballarat, Victoria, has led to quicker feed options over summer. Mr Torpy said he first sowed Bouncer in the spring of 2010 and the success that season led to additional planting in 2011. “We generally sow in late September as the ground is starting to warm up,” he said. “We’ve found the Bouncer gets away quickly, competes well with the weeds and provides a bit of early feed. It is really good the way it came away.” He said they bred their own lambs and used Bouncer to be able to send the stock to markets from mid-January. Typically the lambs are born in May and June and are then sent to market at regular intervals from that January timing. Mr Torpy said to achieve this they needed an early feed with Bouncer suiting that purpose well.
.He said the feed was available from late November onwards and they would put a reasonable sized mob on first-up to trim the forage back. “After they knocked it back we would take them out and let the Bouncer re-grow for the next three to four weeks. “Generally once you put them on you can expect a bettering of their condition in two to three weeks. We averaged good money for the lambs last year.” Mr Torpy said the Bouncer was down into three 10 acre paddocks during September and they also planted a 5 acre paddock in late October.
“We dropped 750 lambs and they will all have a go at the Bouncer,” he said. The Bouncer was sown at a rate of 5 kilograms per hectare into paddocks that had a range of rotational histories that included old pasture, potatoes and brassica from the previous summer. Irrigation water is available on the Bouncer in drier years, however the last two seasons have been highlighted by some summer rainfall and additional waterings have not been required. In 2010 the wet conditions delayed the first grazing until mid-December, and the Bouncer held on well to continue to provide quality feed. Mr Torpy said the lambs also had access to lucerne areas when they came off the Bouncer and the combination of the two worked really well together.
Tony Torpy, Newlyn VIC
