Awnless crop varieties in demand

Speaker Pat Guerin, Balco, Balaklava, said the export fodder industry was going through great growth.

"Even with the drought season, the total amount being exported from Australia is 1.2 million tonnes - a big number compared to 10 years ago," he said.

But he stressed that common feedback from markets had been they don't want awned wheat and barley.

"The dry matter intake of awned varieties is low compared to alternatives," he said.

"But they like the idea of wheat and barley as an alternative to oats, so if we can give more continuity of supply, then we may open up more market options."

Mick Faulkner, Agrilink, said unfortunately there had been no "deliberate attempt" to breed awnless wheat as a dual-purpose crop for the past 50 years.

"There are awnless wheats with grain yields that are quite reasonable, but we are starting a long way behind," he said.

"And the domestic industry prefers awnless, the export industry prefers awnless, and for grazing, animals prefer awnless."

Mr Faulkner said awnless variety DS Bennett had very good grain yield and "pretty good" biomass yields.

"But it is a late variety and puts biomass on late, while Orion is a soft wheat in quality, which isn't for everyone because of the market limitations," he said.

"Manning and Beaufort are white and red feed wheats, which we also wouldn't necessarily choose to grow, so the aim is to look at what could be APW quality, but have reasonable biomass production for hay or grazing."

Mr Faulkner said Hart trials of Longreach and a Magenta-based variety were showing promise.

"There is also a variety based on Yitpi, but it may have issues with yellow leaf spot," he said.

"Naperoo is a fantastic winter wheat, grows a fair bit of bulk, but being white feed, it has limited market potential for grain."

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Grain Innovation Australia's Larn McMurray, Clare, also spoke about the world's first imi-tolerant oats variety - King Bale - which was launched at the field day.

He expected the variety to open up new hay oat options.

"It will also open up rotation options," he said.

"With concerns about the breakdown of chemistry due to the dry, this variety will give growers peace of mind."

Mr Guerin said end users were seeking "more pure" products with less weeds.

"Into China at the moment, they have a protocol that has very tight tolerances on weeds," he said.

"So new crop options, such as imi-tolerant oats, is a new tool to reduce that."

But there had to be market considerations when it came to chemical usage, he said.

"The AVPMA has rules, but each export market has its own rules," he said.

"Plus there is increasing attention to detail, like chemical application history, and Australia is getting more heavily scrutinised."