PLANTING Seed Force annual ryegrass variety Adrenalin has overcome problems of waterlogged paddocks and boosted the productivity of Greenways farmer Alick Begg's prime lamb operation.
Annual ryegrass provides a reliable and nutritional feed base for 1500 first-cross Border Leicester Merino ewes, which he runs on 310 hectares of heavy black flats between Kingston and Millicent.
Alick farms with wife Betty and sons David and Mark, and Mark's wife Melissa at 'Binnowie' and has always used different varieties of ryegrass as a feed base.
Five years ago he was put onto Adrenalin ryegrass by South East Seeds, Naracoorte.
"I have used other varieties but haven't seen anything go like this," he said.
He identifies the key benefits of ryegrass as fast establishment and its ability to thrive even in paddocks inundated by water.
"The rye was growing in six inches of water," Alick said. "Inundation didn't slow it down very much."
With an already high average annual rainfall of 813 millimetres, the ability of the fodder crop to grow in waterlogged paddocks was even more relevant given a very wet past couple of seasons across South Australia.
Like many South East farms, the property is prone to waterlogging and inundation in winter and spring, even in below-average years.
"We get inundated every year and it has a big impact on our stocking rates," Alick said.
"We were looking for a ryegrass with improved palatability and particularly good early growth so it would get above the waterline before we got inundated."
Last year Alick dry sowed 36 ha with the ryegrass in March at a seeding rate of 20 kilograms/ha. It went in with 2kg/ha of balansa clover and was topdressed with 200kg/ha of single superphosphate.
"We usually sow pasture dry because the rains make it tough to get in the paddock. We had opening rains a week or two afterwards," he said.
"We usually like to graze ryegrass at the three-leaf stage provided it passes the pluck test. We were able to give the Adrenalin a light graze in just six weeks. It really took off early. Our neighbours were talking about how good it looked.
"The stock really went for it. We rotation-grazed it through to December, which meant we got an extra month and a half of grazing than we usually have. It always came back fast. Even the inundation in August and September didn't slow it down very much - we took an agent for a drive by the paddock and could see it sticking up in six inches of water."
Alick said he achieved a 120 per cent lambing rate with ewes grazed on the pasture.
The first-cross ewes are mated to Galaxy Park White Suffolk sires to produce prime lambs which he mainly sells at the Mount Gambier market. He had been selling over the hooks to T&R Pastoral but has turned back to the market system as sheep prices continue to climb.
Earlier this year he was averaging $170-$187 for lambs, topping $230.
The Beggs run a total of 3300 ewes using their second property at Reedy Creek, near Kingston.
This year Alick has mated 1100 Merino ewes to Dohne rams for the first time. He hopes to use Dohne and Border Leicester rams in his ewe breeding program.
*Full report in Stock Journal, May 12 issue, 2011.
