BIGG’s big pasture walk | Keyneton | Moculta

On Friday September 16, the Barossa Improved Grazing Group (BIGG) will hold its major pasture walk for the year where it will showcase its pasture project trial sites located at Moculta and Keyneton.

The trials funded by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) through a Producer Research Site and Producer Demonstration Site grant are investigating;

• Sub-clover root disease management (Moculta), and
• The productivity of different pasture varieties for use in grazing and vineyard systems (Keyneton).

Apart from observing BIGG’s trials and discussing their results, the pasture walk will feature a field presentation by University of Western Australia plant pathologist, Dr Ming Pei You, who’s research group have co-located one of their national sub-clover root disease trial sites at Moculta. Dr You will discuss the impact that root diseases have on pasture productivity and the management strategies that best reduce their impact.

Thanks to Sheep Connect SA, clover experts David Woodard from Rural Solutions SA and Dr Kevin Foster from the University of WA will also give a field presentation about sub-clover identification, including the identification and management of oestrogenic clovers. Several oestrogenic clover varieties infest local pastures and given they can substantially affect sheep production through reducing ewe fertility its vitally important to be able to identify them.

BIGG’s trials have been conducted with the assistance of Coopers Farm Supplies and Farmer Johns, whose agronomists will be at the pasture walk to answer all your pasture related questions.

The pasture walk begins at 1pm at the Keyneton trial site (Cnr Mt Eagle Road and Stott Hwy, Keyneton). For further information about the pasture walk and to RSVP, contact Brett Nietschke at E: brett.nietschke@biggroup.org.au M: 0432 804 389