The September roadshow will visit Pasture Trials Network sites in western Victoria.
A two-day Grassland Society of Southern Australia Pasture Roadshow in September will highlight which pasture cultivars have excelled during the past two difficult seasons.
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The travelling roadshow on September 17 and 18 will also give participants a rare opportunity to see inside the work of the Pasture Trials Network (PTN) in identifying productive and persistent pasture cultivars.
The roadshow will include visits to the Wando Bridge PTN phalaris trial site, the Strathkellar sub clover PTN site, the DLF Seeds’ tall fescue and phalaris pasture demonstration sites at the old Terang DemoDAIRY/RIST training site near Terang, and the Southern Farming Systems (SFS) pasture trial site at Rokewood.
All the sites are in western Victoria.
Grassland Society president Tim Prance said the roadshow would be a great opportunity for farmers and agronomists to see what new and old cultivars worked and what management practices succeeded during the drought.
“It’s important to learn from what worked and what didn’t work during the drought so we’re better prepared for next time,” Mr Prance said.
“The roadshow will show that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Some pasture cultivars and management systems have worked in the difficult seasons and we want to highlight those successes.”
Pasture Trials Network executive officer Tony Butler will join the tour.
Mr Prance said the roadshow would highlight the importance of PTN field trials.
“The PTN is a valuable resource available to farmers that want verified information on what pastures are more productive and more persistent in our changing climate,” he said.
“The roadshow will visit different farm paddocks so participants can look at the varieties and make up their own minds.”
The roadshow is open to Grassland Society members and non-members.
PTN executive officer Tony Butler will also join the tour. The PTN is funded by Meat & Livestock Australia, Dairy Australia and commercial pasture seed companies.
Active PTN sites are not open to the public, but the Grassland Society has been allowed to visit the sites at Wando Bridge and Strathkellar.
As a result, GSSA roadshow participants will be required to register via the Grassland Society website at www.grasslands.org.au to be provided with the exact paddock locations.
The roadshow will also include a dinner in Hamilton with an online presentation about Barenbrug’s clover breeding program and planned new sub clover varieties due to be released in the next three to four years.
GSSA has successfully promoted the business of grass, science and farming since 1959 and has branches in Victoria, South Australia and southern NSW.
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