Legumes for profitable pastures

The north Queensland pasture team recently held the first of a new series of Sown Pastures workshops at DAF’s Walkamin Research Facility on the Atherton Tablelands. Running over 6 hours, the workshop has a primary focus on facilitating peer to peer learning through short presentations and interactive discussions around sown pasture establishment and pasture management. Targeting beef cattle producers in north Queensland, the main aim of the workshop is to empower attendees to walk away feeling confident, informed and prepared to establish sown pastures on their property.

The workshop has been designed to cover a broad range of topics, including;

• The practical and financial benefits of legume-grass pastures and nutritional advantages for grazing animals, using local examples of live weight gain data and trial site results (specific to workshop location)
• Planning, timelines and considerations for establishing successful sown pastures and legumes
• Paddock selection and selecting appropriate grasses and legumes for your property
• Reliable establishment methods including fertiliser regimes, correct seed storage and inoculum usage
• Seed bed preparation, sowing and planting methods
• Practical demonstrations of machinery and seed bed preparation (location dependant)
• Long-term pasture management including nutrition, weed management and grazing management to maintain productive pastures.

The team plans to host several workshops over the course of the north Queensland Pasture Resilience Program, altering the content to suit the location of each workshop to ensure all information delivered is regionally relevant. If you are interest in attending a Sown Pastures workshop in north Queensland or would like to see us host a workshop in your area, get in touch with pasture extension officer Katie Hay on 0436 836 623 or at kaitlyn.hay@daf.qld.gov.au.

These workshops are being delivered under The Queensland Pasture Resilience Program, which is a partnership between the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Meat & Livestock Australia and the Australian Government through the MLA Donor Company.