Secrets of year round feed supply to be revealed at FEED365 spring field day on September 17

An upcoming field day in Katanning will demonstrate to sheep producers how forage crops and pastures can provide an almost year-round feed supply without the need for supplementary feeding. The Katanning field day on September 17 will include a site tour of the FEED365 project, led by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, co-invested by Meat and Livestock Australia’s SheepLinks program, and support from the Grower Group Alliance. A large range of perennial pastures, native grasses, annual legumes and herbs, annual grasses, cereals and shrubs will be available for inspection by visitors. DPIRD senior principal research scientist Daniel Real said the project demonstrated it was possible to create a year-round feed supply for livestock. “Despite 2023 being a very dry year, the combination of forage options at the station was able to provide a total of 334 days of grazing during a short growing season with limited summer rainfall,” he said. “There is no single-species solution, rather it’s the combination of forages and when and how long they are grazed that helped to achieve near year-round green feed. “Every forage treatment has a story behind it — why it was planted, how it was sown, and follow-up management — to ensure its success. “This result is encouraging in the face of a difficult year, like the start of 2024, enabling producers to become less dependent on costly supplementary feed — improving productivity and profitability.” MLA productivity and animal wellbeing group manager David Beatty said the FEED365 field day would give visitors a first-hand opportunity to see how the project was coming along and how the strategies could benefit their own operations. “The producer network and sites that this project has developed across mixed farming areas in WA is excellent news for producers,” he said. “The variety and demonstration of pasture options that producers can assess and implement into their own production systems is important from an adoption and impact perspective.” The FEED365 field day will be held on September 17 at the DPIRD Katanning Research Station, 453 Katanning-Nyabing Road, from 9.30am-3pm.