New videos showcase fresh approaches to stylo adoption in north Queensland
The adoption of stylos in north Queensland has transformed productivity on native pastures, particularly during the dry season months when the tough shrubs produce high-protein leaf when companion grasses crash in feed value. Whilst the word has long been out, some new approaches to adopting stylos being demonstrated through the Queensland Pasture Resilience Program (QPRP) has prompted interest from interstate. In a previous QPRP newsletter article we described a visit by government researchers and land managers from WA and Northern Territory during May 2025. The group visited beef properties in the Mt Surprise and Georgetown districts where stylos underpin weaner and steer production. Stops on the return leg included the QPRP stylo establishment grazing trial at ‘Whitewater’ and leucaena management grazing trial at ‘Pinnarendi’. The travellers were warmly hosted by the northern producers and DPI sown pastures team and it was a great few days of paddock discussion.
To share the experience more broadly, our WA colleagues from Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Geoff Moore and Chris Hetherington, set up the tripod in the paddock and got cracking with recording producer and researcher opinions and ‘tricks of the trade’ plus footage of stylos being established using cultivated strip systems. The result of this were two videos:
- The benefit of stylos to production systems
- Methods to establish stylos under a range of situations
While Hollywood might not be beckoning (yet!), we hope you get some good information out of the videos and get in touch if you want support planting your own.
Written by Shannon Byrnes and Bernie English (Mareeba DPI) and Karl McKellar (Charters Towners DPI) as part of the Queensland Pasture Resilience Program which is a partnership between the Department of Primary Industries, Meat & Livestock Australia and the Australian Government through the MLA Donor Company.