ON FARM NORTHERN CATTLE FEEDBASE f Legumes in the mix help When pasture dieback “It was heartbreaking to watch.” devastated 70% LESSONS Pasture dieback impacted 400ha of LEARNED of one of their grass country on the 590ha property Central Queensland and prompted a complete rethink of the properties, beef producers Greg family’son‑farm management program > It’s important to improve the . and Vicki Lawrence turned to microbial health of soil. legumes to help fill the gap in Legume mix > Plant legumes as a crop so it’s their feedbase – and they’ve even Greg was unsure if re‑sowing buffel cost‑effective – legume seeds tapped into production benefits grass would have an impact on are too expensive to waste. combating pasture loss and weed > Do your research and talk along the way. emergence, so he decided to plough to other producers and Pasture dieback was first identifiedan affected paddock and plant wheat to advisors (such as Department at their property, ‘Kendah’, Wowan, provide supplementary feed for cattle. of Agriculture and Fisheries in December 2016. Through October 2017, Greg ploughed agronomists) for their insights. The dieback spread rapidly after rain inmore paddocks and planted a mix March 2017, decimating the Lawrences’of legumes including butterfly pea, well‑established pastures. caatinga stylo, Progardes desmanthus, burgundy bean and lablab. “After the parent grass died, any grass seed that came up would grow a couple“The butterfly pea had already worked of inches, then turn yellow and red andin some paddocks so I knew it would die,” Greg said. work. The burgundy bean has similar characteristics so I presumed it would grow. What is pasture “Lablab was a relatively quick cover crop, dieback? which meant we would definitely have a feedbase to fall back on if the otherPasture dieback hit this paddock at ‘Kendah’ Pasture dieback is a condition plantings didn’t work. in March 2018. Greg planted a legume mix and here’s how it looked in July 2020, after being causing death of patches of “We planted the legumes like baled in April 2020, yielding 25 round bales/ha. pasture across a range of sown and native grasses. It’s prevalenta crop and we’ve had brilliant finished on home‑grown wheat and across northern, central and results so far. We ploughed, sorghum in grain feeders in the paddock. south‑east Queensland and waited till it rained, planted has also been reported in Since the successful establishment of northern NSW. and sprayed with herbicide the legumes, Greg’s started turning off to combat the weeds. cattle without any grain finishing. Symptoms include: • vivid yellowing and/or reddening “The cattle love the legumes and we “Today, 75% of the property has beenhaven’t had any issues with bloat,” of leaves planted to legumes.” Greg said. • as the condition progresses, plants die in patches less than Production benefits “We sold two‑year‑old bullocks straight 1m in diameter to paddock scale Greg and Vicki are EU‑accredited off the legumes last year. (up to hundreds of hectares) producers. They breed Droughtmaster/“They would normally have a dressed • reduction in root system and Charbray cross cattle and sell directly toweight of 370–390kg with grain grass density. Teys Australia’s Rockhampton facility.finishing but they dressed 345kg Cattle are rotationally grazed and usuallystraight off the legumes, without grain SNAPSHOT:Greg and Vicki Lawrence, ‘Kendah’, Wowan and ‘Balcarres’, Gogango, Queenslandl Area: Enterprise: Livestock: Pasture: Soil: Rainfall: 590ha at EU accredited Droughtmaster/ American Belah softwood 700mm Wowan, 1,388ha beef producers Charbray cattle and Gayndah scrub at Gogango buffel grass 20