GET TO KNOW YOUR LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR
Agrimix is committed to developing valued partnerships that drive pasture productivity with integrity and science.
ROSS NEWMAN
Agricultural and Pastoral Consultant
Gracemere Veterinary Surgery, Rockhampton
Despite some of the driest years on record around the Rockhampton region, we have seen Progardes Desmanthus not only successfully establish, due principally to seed scarification and the sheer number of seeds in its bare form, but also continue to provide green leaf while most of the grasses were standing still.
I must admit, when Agrimix Pastures first started promoting Progardes Desmanthus I was one of the largest sceptics. Some twenty years prior, we had seen Desmanthus cultivars being promoted as the solution to increasing productivity in the black soil Buffel country. These cultivars were sown with old school thought processes behind Blade Ploughs with limited success. Combined with a limited understanding of grazing management requirements, come May/June each year, we just ended up with a paddock of green stems; all the leaf had been dropped on the ground.
Agrimix Pastures, however, have undertaken significant research and extension work to provide producers with valuable information surrounding the successful establishment of this small-seeded legume, in some of the harshest environments we can be faced within Northern Australia. Preparing a paddock properly for seeding can be perceived as expensive. With the strength of current land values and the strength of the Queensland beef industry, however, every extra kilogram of beef produced per hectare is like gold.
Following years of grass monoculture, our ageing soils and tired pastures need persistent, productive and palatable legumes so that we can continue to be at the top of our game. Whilst there is always a risk of failure when planting any pasture seed, with the production results we have seen from the inclusion of Progardes in our pasture systems, I can foresee greater investment in seeding equipment in the future, ensuring the continued success of establishing such a small seed in a big world.
From what I have seen over the past few years, Progardes Desmanthus has a huge role to play when sown on the right soils with the right equipment at the right time.
Ross is happy to answer any Progardes® questions you might have - just give him a call on 0419 200 373.
