Want to enjoy the profits of the current livestock market? Indeed, with increasing fert and chem prices, it’s a great time to have a closer look at some exciting pasture seed varieties that you can use to add value to your livestock program. So why not boost your pasture areas and rely less on chemicals and fertiliser? Increase your pasture feed next year with our top 20 seed varieties to choose from.

Grasses

1. Fortune Tall Fescue

Min Rainfall – 750mm
Dryland Seeding Rate 8-15kg/ha
Fortune Tall Fescue from Barenbrug is a summer active tall fescue bred in Australia that is more persistent than current leading varieties. Fortune also has outstanding forage yield, offering higher winter, early spring and autumn production and excellent seedling vigour. Fortune also exhibits excellent persistence over extended dry summers. Growth characteristics include medium width leaves that are finer than many other typical summer active fescues. It’s a longer-term grass option that needs to be sufficiently anchored before first grazing. However, once established, tall fescue should be rotationally grazed to keep biomass down for best results and will require heavy grazing under good growing conditions in spring/summer.
More info.

2. Horizon Phalaris

Maturity – Early
Min Rainfall – 400mm
Dryland Seeding Rate – 3-5kg
Horizon, also from Barenbrug, is an early maturing, winter active phalaris with robust establishment, providing superior winter yields in medium rainfall zones. Bred in Australia, it has excellent autumn and winter production. All phalaris cultivars are relatively slow establishing species compared to ryegrasses. Even with Horizon’s excellent establishment vigour, it is critical to reduce weed seed burden to give a newly sown pasture the best chance for successful establishment. To ensure the longevity of your phalaris stand, do not commence grazing until plants are firmly anchored and established.
More info.

3. Jivet Ryegrass

Maturity – Early
Min Rainfall – 600mm
Dryland Seeding Rate 10-15kg/ha
Jivet from S&W is a short-term tetraploid annual ryegrass that maximises winter and spring production, with the extra benefit of late spring quality and growth. Rapid establishment, fast regrowth during winter.
More info.

4. Rebound Forage Millet

Min Rainfall – 500mm (Stored Moisture Required)
Dryland Seeding Rate – 10-15kg/ha
S&W’s Rebound Forage is fast-growing summer millet that can be sown into moist soils once soil temperatures reach 14c or more. It has vigorous seedling growth at the right soil temperatures and high growth rates. It is a safe, good quality summer feed option when stored moisture available.
More info.

5. Super Sweet Sudan (SSS)

Dryland Seeding Rate – 2-5kg/ha
Pioneer Seeds SSS or Super Sweet Sedan is a hybrid sorghum cross that is quick to graze and can handle multiple and intensive grazings. It’s a great summer grazing option that is ready to plant once soil temperatures reach 15c or more. It is designed to be highly palatable at all stages of maturity and growth. It has a prolific tillering habit, superfine stems and is super sweet and leafy. It can also be cut for hay or silage and regrazed.
More info.

6. Tetrone Ryegrass

Maturity – Mid
Min Rainfall – 350mm
Dryland Seeding Rate 10- 15kg/ha
Tetrone from S&W is an exceptionally quick establishing tetraploid annual ryegrass with higher nutritive values for crude protein and metabolisable energy than other ryegrass varieties. It is well suited to grazing, silage, and hay production in medium to lower rainfall environments. It has strong winter growth and excellent frost tolerance.
More info.

7. Vortex Ryegrass

Maturity – Mid – Late
Min Rainfall – 500mm
Dryland Seeding Rate 15- 20kg/ha
Barenbrug’s Vortex Ryegrass is a tetraploid annual Westerwold ryegrass with high autumn/winter and early spring dry matter production. Quick establishment speed means you reach first grazing time quicker. Vortex is ready to go once seedlings resist pulling and the leaf tears instead; this is typically 5-8 weeks after sowing. It has broad and deep green leaves.
More info.

Clovers, Medics & Lucerne

8. Cavalier Spineless Burr Medic

Maturity – Mid
Min Rainfall – 300mm
Dryland Seeding Rate 10- 15kg/ha
Cavalier medic from S&W is a highly adaptable annual medic with versatile uses. Used as a self-regenerating autumn to-spring growing annual pasture, it germinates after autumn rains, flowers in spring after 90 days and sets seed in late spring. It has vigorous dry matter production and is high in crude protein. It has a spineless burr shaped seed pod; however, it has a relatively small seed size and must be sown quite shallow. It’s suited to alkaline to slightly acid soils with good waterlogging tolerance. Once established, its hardseededness allows it to regenerate from a soil-seed bank after short cropping phases of typically one to three years.
More info.

9. Cefalu Arrowleaf Clover

Maturity – Early
Min Rainfall – 400mm
Dryland Seeding Rate – 2-5kg/ha
Barenbrug’s Cefalu is an annual clover that demonstrates early prostrate growth and then becomes erect during the spring, growing up to 1.2m tall. It has thick stems with many tillers and produces large leaves with a “V” shape marking, a distinctive characteristic of arrowleaf clover. Cefalu is deep-rooted and can extend its root system up to 1.5m into the soil profile, sourcing water from a perched water table. This enables Cefalu to produce herbage long after traditional pastures have dried off and makes it very valuable where rainfall is likely to be insufficient for the growth of other various annual and perennial legumes. Cefalu can provide high-quality feed (18–22% crude protein) and is ideal for hay.
More info.

10. Clare 2 Sub Clover

Maturity – Mid
Min Rainfall – 275mm
Dryland Seeding Rate – 8-14kg/ha
Clare 2 is a mid-maturity, large, leafy ‘brachy’ type sub clover from S&W. It can tolerate heavy grazing, and vigorous seedling provides good winter feed. It is suited to permanent and semipermanent pastures and crop rotations with at least two years between crops. Large leaf type makes for excellent variety in a hay mix. Excellent as a green feed, with in vitro digestibility in the order of 70 per cent and crude protein over 20 per cent until mid-flowering. Quality reduces once plants hay off.
More info.

11. Jester Barrel Medic

Maturity – Mid
Min Rainfall – 350mm
Dryland Seedling Rate 4-10kg
Jester is an aphid resistant barrel medic from Barenbrug. This variety was developed by SARDI as a superior replacement for Jemalong, and has much-improved aphid resistance to blue-green aphid and spotted alfalfa aphid. Jester will provide increased herbage production and pest resistance for low to medium rainfall areas with alkaline soils. It also provides an effective disease break, while providing high-quality feed for either hay or grazing purposes. It also fixes nitrogen, which is valuable for subsequent crop rotations. Barrel medics are better suited to permanent pastures than snail medics and have a very high level of hard seed. This ensures good persistence even through the cropping phases of a rotation.
More info.

12. Mawson Sub Clover

Maturity – Early
Min Rainfall – 350mm
Dry Land Sowing Rate – 2-6kg/ha
Barenbrug’s Mawson is an early flowering Brachycalycinum type sub clover bred by SARDI. Mawson is suitable for long term permanent pastures in low to medium rainfall environments. Mawson has excellent long-term persistence by regenerating through having higher hard seed levels and better seed production than other similar maturity varieties. Mawson has an intermediate growth habit with early maturity, approximately eighty-eight days to flowering (SA).
More info.

13. Mintaro Sub Clover

Maturity – Mid
Min Rainfall – 400mm
Dryland Seeding Rate – 5-7kg/ha
Mintaro is a white seeded Sub Clover that belongs to the family of Trifolium subterranean ssp. brachycalycinum from Barenbrug. It is derived from hybrid selections between Rosedale and other elite germplasm sources. Mintaro demonstrates a prostrate to semi-erect growth habit with a large leaf and persists well on various alkaline soil types. It has early to mid-season maturity and is suited to medium to high rainfall environments with a growing season of 6 months. Mintaro has been developed as a superior alternative to Rosedale and Clare. It has improved hard seed levels that protect against false breaks, provides better regeneration and excellent winter and early spring production. These attributes combine to make Mintaro suited to either permanent pasture or medium-term cropping rotations. Mintaro will also provide the benefits of fixing soil nitrogen and providing an effective disease break.
More info.

14. Ovaflow Sub Clover

Maturity – Late
Min Rainfall – 275mm
Dryland Seeding Rate 8-14kg/ha
Ovaflow from S&W is a late maturity conventional sub clover for high yields in regenerating pastures. It can tolerate heavy grazing, and vigorous seedling provides good winter feed. It is suited to permanent and semipermanent pastures and crop rotations with at least two years between crops. Will get to flowering at 140 days.
More info.

15. ML99 Multileaf Lucerne

Min Rainfall – 250mm
Dryland Seeding Rate – 4-8kg/ha
S&W’s ML99 is an active winter lucerne developed to incorporate a new level of quality and production, with 40% more leaflets than conventional lucerne. It has superior stand life with broad disease and nematode resistance, and frost tolerance to protect cold season production.
More info.

16. SARDI 7 Series 2

Min Rainfall – 350mm
Barenbrug’s SARDI 7 Series 2 will provide superior performance wherever SARDI 7 has been successful. This includes where persistent, high producing lucerne stands are required and in grazing situations where winter produced feed can be utilised. It is suited to direct grazing or hay and silage production, and can be sown in pasture mixes or under-sown in cropping systems. In addition, SARDI 7 Series 2 will perform well in dairy, beef, and sheep production systems in high rainfall zones where dormant or semi-dormant varieties have traditionally been grown. It will persist and produce more dry matter than winter or semi-winter dormant varieties delivering more feed during the winter months. SARDI 7 Series 2 has improved tolerance to acid soils (pH >4.5Ca).
More info.

Forage Brassicas

17. Bouncer Hybrid Forage Brassica

Min Rainfall – 500mm
Dryland Sowing Rate – 3kg/ha
S&W has bred Bouncer, a hybrid leafy turnip with the ability to fill winter feed shortfalls. An excellent partner with SubZero that is quick to first grazing, and then fast to recover after grazing, with more number plants surviving.
More info.

18. SF Greenland Forage Rape

Min Rainfall – 350mm
Dryland Seeding Rate – 3-5kg/ha
Seed Force’s Greenland is a high yielding forage rape that can be used by dairy, beef, and sheep producers to produce high-quality feed in any season where moisture during the growing season will allow. Due to its late flowering, SF Greenland is well suited to sowing during late summer until spring. It consistently produces high yields when sown for either winter or summer feed.
More info.

19. Leafmore Forage Rape

Maturity – Early
Min Rainfall – 450mm
A hybrid type forage brassica, Leafmore by Barenbrug produces high yielding dry matter and has a good leaf to stem ratio. It can be autumn, winter or spring sown, providing an ideal forage and rotation option. Leafmore is highly palatable, and depending on conditions, 10–12t Dm/ha of production is possible within one season. It demonstrates good cold tolerance and excellent regrowth after grazing. When sown in spring, it can grow for 18 months. Early maturity means it reaches first grazing at 8 – 10 weeks and will give excellent regrowth allowing four or more grazing.
More info.

20. Subzero Hybrid Forage Brassica

Maturity – Early
Min Rainfall – 500mm
Dryland Seeding Rate – 3kg/ha
Subzero is another hybrid kale/turnip type from S&W with a 12-18 month life span that comes with the ability to withstand frosts and retain green leaf. It provides multiple grazings and excellent regrowth after grazing makes it one of the most persistent forage brassica cultivars.
More info.

Call one of our agronomists to order yours today!