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Summer grasses and legumes can provide good forage during the warmer months of the year. The feed value of the grasses varies considerably with the millet and sorghums tending to be lower in energy and digestibility compared to teff. Cowpeas and lablab are fast growing, annual, summer forage legumes. They are excellent quality crops for fattening livestock, and are also regarded as good feed for milking cows. Traditionally, these crops have been grown in Queensland and the northern half of NSW, where summer rainfall is more predominant. Their suitability to the more southern areas like Victoria is limited.
Competitive Canopy
Nitrogen Fix
Fast Growth
Highly valued soil health species, Freyr fixed nitrogen and is a high protein forage option.
A tropical legume adapted to a wide range of soil and environmental conditions with very quick growth in favourable conditions. Originating in India, recent popular use around the world has expanded rapidly and Sunn Hemp is widely used in Cover cropping, grazing and forage production. Crops can be grazed through to flowering and when planted into warm soils with good moisture, biomass production can be very fast. Access to quality sowing seed has traditionally been an issue for Sunn Hemp adoption in Australia but seed is now readily available.
Sowing Rate: 10-20kg/Ha
Grain
Forage
Hay
Soybean is an annual Summer growing legume that can be a useful forage and hay crop, particularly in high rainfall and coastal districts. Grain varieties can be used for hay production but later maturing types are preferred for grazing. The best quality hay is made from soybean crops when pods are half filled. In all production areas, crops intended for grain are sometimes cut for hay after poor pod set, or when the relative return for hay is higher than expected returns from grain i.e. drought.
Sandy Soils
Green Manure
A summer growing legume, cowpeas are more suitable to sandy soils than Lablab, they flower earlier but do not recover as well after grazing.
Sowing Rate: 20kg/ha
Grazing
Heavy Soils
Lablab’s performance on heavy soils is greatly superior to that of cowpeas; both require well-drained soils, although lablab has better resistance to phytophthora root rot. Lablab is more tolerant than cowpeas to trampling and recovers quicker after grazing.
Sowing Rate: 30kg/ha
Forage sorghum is the most productive and fast growing forages. It can produce large volumes of feed relatively quickly. As a general guide, it can be sown when the threat of frost has gone and soil temperatures have reached at least 16°C. Graze carefully, once the crop is well established, 80 cm high and unstressed. If the crop is stressed, there is a risk of Prussic acid and/or nitrate poisoning. Check more specific information on each available variety
Grazing
Hay/Silage
16 Degrees + Soil Temp
Swift 2 forage sorghum is a great value forage sorghum that provides fast first feed and multiple harvests. Swift 2 offers grazing, hay and silage value, low prussic acid risk, a fine stemmed and leafy plant type, excellent regrowth, and drought tolerance. Swift 2 will lead to outstanding animal performance and provide flexible stand management.
Grazing
Silage
16 Degrees + Soil Temp
Chop-Chop is a sweet sorghum x sweet sorghum variety that has high yield and sugar levels. Chop=Chop makes excellent silage and isa grazing option. it has been proven to be highly palatable due to its large leaf and juicy sweet stalks which also increases its energy value.
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18 Degrees + Soil Temp
Single Graze
Hay/Silage
Teff is a self-pollinated, annual grass and can be harvested or grazed multiple times during the growing season. As a fast-growing crop, Teff combines excellent forage quality with high yield during a relatively short growing season. It is best sown when soil temperatures have reached 18°C. Due to its extremely small seed size, seed placement at sowing is critical. The best seed bed for Teff is obtained by working the soil, rolling then dropping the seed on top and rolling again. Sowing depths of 10mm or greater can result in complete failure.Â
Sowing Rate:Â Â 5-7kg/ha
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14 Degrees + Soil Temp
Multiple Grazing
Hay/Silage
Shirohie Millet has less dry matter production than forage sorghum. It can be more difficult to establish than the larger seeded sorghums. Shirohie can be grazed 5 to 7 weeks after sowing but does not stand harsh grazing. There is no prussic acid poisoning risk associated with Shirohie. It can run rapidly to head in hotter weather so grazing management is important, it is also frost sensitive.
Sowing Rate: Dryland or in mixed 10-15kg/ha, Irrigation 20kg/ha
12 Degrees + Soil Temp
Single Graze
Hay/Silage
Grazing maize is a single graze, quality feed option. It does not contain prussic acid. It is not affected by diamond back moth and white butterfly. It also tolerates lower soil temperatures at sowing than Sorghum and millet.
Gippsland, Yarra Valley, SW Vic, & Lower SE SA
0409 776 126
rhys.cs@agfseeds.com.au
Northern NSW & Queensland
0499 456 263
will.bazley@agfseeds.com.au
Victorian Mallee & South Australia
0448 863 169
craig.altmann@agfseeds.com.au
South East NSW & North East Victoria
0491 219 291
cooper.lambden@agfseeds.com.au
SW Vic, Central Vic, SE South Australia, Murray NSW & Tasmania
0497 432 157
ivan.pyke@agfseeds.com.au
NOTICE: Although the information and recommendations in this guide are presented in good faith and believed to be correct, AGF Seeds Pty. Ltd. makes no representations or warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of Information. Information is supplied upon the condition that the persons receiving same will make their own determination as to its suitability for their purposes prior to use. In no event will AGF Seeds Pty. Ltd. be responsible for any damages or loss of any nature whatsoever resulting from the use of or reliance upon Information supplied in this guide.