Pastures are the backbone of the Australian beef industry. Forage crops also play an important role in providing additional nutrition and finishing cattle for specific markets.
This section has information about plant species common to northern Australia, including: tips on selection, establishment and management; collecting plant samples for identification; links to tools and other resources.
Pastures and forage crops complements the information you can find under grazing land management and nutrition.
Species and species selection
Selecting a sown pasture
The benefits of sown pastures include, improved pasture productivity, management flexibility and land rehabilitation. However, with benefits, come disadvantages. This page explains more:
Sown pastures: their place, their role and the things to watch
Broadacre forage crops and sown pasture species
- Annual medics, Queensland Government
- Forage oat agronomy guide, Queensland Government
- Forage sorghum, Northern Territory Government
- Bambatsi, Queensland Government
- Buffel grass in south Queensland, Queensland Government
- Creeping bluegrass, Queensland Government
- Desmanthus, Queensland Government
- Digit grass, Queensland Government
- Green panic, Queensland Government
- Legumes for long-term pastures on high fertility soils in Queensland
- Legumes for fodder crops and short-term pastures on clay soils in Queensland
- Lucerne, Western Australia Government
- Leucaena, Queensland Government
- Purple pigeon grass, Queensland Government
- Rhodes grass, Queensland Government
- Serradella, Queensland Government
- Vetches, Queensland Government
Native pasture species
- Annual sorghum, Western Australia Government
- Black speargrass in Queensland
- Bluebush
- Felty leaf bluebush , Western Australia Government
- Golden bluebush, Western Australia Government
- Bundle-bundle (Dichanthium fecundum), Western Australia Government
- Feathertop threeawn grass, Western Australia Government
- Feathertop wiregrass, Western Australia Government
- Forest bluegrass
- Kangaroo grass
- Kerosene grass
- Erect kerosene grass, Western Australia Government
- Bunched kerosene grass, Western Australia Government
- Limestone grass, Western Australia Government
- Mitchell grass
- Barley Mitchell (Astrebla pectinata), Western Australia Government
- Bull Mitchell (Astrebla squarrosa), Western Australia Government
- Hoop Mitchell (Astrebla elymoides), Western Australia Government
- Native legumes
- Native millet, Western Australia Government
- Native panics
- Plume sorghum, Western Australia Government
- Ribbon grass (Chrysopogon fallax), Western Australia Government
- Rice grass, Western Australia Government
- Roebourne plains grass, Western Australia Government
- Saltbush
- Silky browntop, Western Australia Government
- Spinifex
- Curly spinifex, Western Australia Government
- Hard spinifexes, Western Australia Government
- Soft spinifexes, Western Australia Government
- White grass, Western Australia Government
- Wire grass, Western Australia Government
- Woollybutt grass, Western Australia Government
Establishment and management
Establishment
- Establishing pasture for small landholders in Western Australia, Western Australia Government
- Sown pastures for the higher rainfall country of the Gympie region
- Pasture establishment in the Northern Territory, Northern Territory Government
- How to reliably establish leucaena
Management
- Sown pasture rundown
- Floodplain grazing management (PDF, 67 KB), Northern Territory Government
- Management of improved grasses on floodplains (PDF, 1.3 MB), Northern Territory Government
- Weeds
- How to manage leucaena once established
Resources
Tools
Useful links
- Pastures, Queensland Government
- Pastures for horses on the Darling Downs, Queensland Government
- The value of improved pastures, Northern Territory Government
- Pastures and fodder crops, Northern Territory Government
- Best practice cattle and land management, Northern Territory Government
- Nutrients in pasture grasses, Northern Territory Government
- Nutrients in pasture legumes, Northern Territory Government
- Broadacre field crops, Queensland Government
- Grain & Graze™
- Weeds, Western Australia Government
- Weeds, Northern Territory Government
- Weeds, Queensland Government
- Weeds Australia
- Weeds of National Significance (WoNS), Federal Government
- Understanding pesticide labels, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
- Queensland Herbarium
Establishing small seeded legumes in existing grass pastures (Gavin Peck) - Webinar
What are the best ways to establish pasture legumes into existing grass pastures?
In this presentation, Gavin Peck (Senior Pasture Agronomist with the Queensland Government) and his team discuss the value of legumes in grazing systems, including the production benefits they deliver, the legume content needed to maximise performance, and the latest Queensland research on overcoming establishment challenges. 65:17 minutes published 14 December 2015 by FutureBeefAu.
Recorded presentations
Pasture flood recovery webinar
In this presentation, Stuart Buck (Senior Pasture Agronomist, Queensland Government), explains the key points in pasture recovery from a flood event. Stuart covers the tolerances of grasses, various management options including pasture spelling, controlling weeds, re-seeding pasture and forage crop options and concludes with his key ‘take home’ messages. 16:16 minutes published 3 March 2013 by FutureBeefAu.
Pasture legumes in Queensland – a new wave
As presented at the Northern Beef Research Update Conference 2013, Kendrick Cox (Senior Scientist, Queensland Government) poses the question… “Are we on the crest of a new wave of legume development in Queensland?” Kendrick discusses the ‘humble bean’, legumes in pastures, and the development, collection and evaluation of legumes. 11:34 minutes published 6 April 2014 by FutureBeefAu.
The diversity and potential within the legume Desmanthus
As presented at the Northern Beef Research Update Conference 2013, Chris Gardiner (Livestock Production Systems, James Cook University) discusses the potential of one particular legume – Desmanthus. He discusses its origin, geographical spread and its beneficial properties. 9:55 minutes published 6 April 2014 by FutureBeefAu.
Where do we stand with weeds from a research perspective?
As presented at the Northern Beef Research Update Conference 2013, Shane Campbell (Weeds and Pest Animal Operations, Biosecurity Queensland) discusses the weed issues in the rangelands and the key focus areas of effective biological control, the refinement of control options and modelling techniques to guide strategic management. Next, Tim Heard (Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO) discusses bio-control of pastoral weeds of northern Australia – a summary of recent projects. 28:47 minutes published 31 March 2014 by FutureBeefAu.
