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Come study native legumes

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Legumes are desirable species in any pasture mix, not only for their stock feed value but also because of their nitrogen fixing ability. But did you know there is a diverse range of native legume species?

Native legumes have the benefit of being adapted to local environmental conditions and it is thought they may be more drought tolerant than their current exotic pasture legume counterparts. But relatively little is known about these plants.

Local Land Services Senior Pastures Officer, Clare Edwards, is conducting a project to learn more about native legumes and where they are found in the Central Tablelands.

“Many of our native and naturalised paddocks on the Central Tablelands have native legumes as part of their composition. They play a vital role in biodiversity, as well as a legume component in our pastures for livestock.” said Ms. Edwards.

“Unfortunately, we know very little about some of the native legumes such as Glycine and Desmodiums or their associated rhizobia and their potential to fix nitrogen. This study will investigate the nodulation of these native legumes and record where they are found in the landscape. Sometimes, we overlook these species even though they can play an important part in our pasture systems.” she continued.

The Central Tablelands Local Land Services is looking for landholders who have native legumes in their pastures to be part of the first survey to be undertaken into such species.

As part of the study, the Local Land Services will be taking plant and root samples from the paddocks, a soil test to correlate soil nutrients and an estimation of the composition of the other plants found alongside the native legumes.

“The Desmodiums, often known as native tick-trefoils, and the Glycines are woody year-long green perennials. They are commonly found in our grasslands all year around, however they are more noticeable at the moment due to their flowering at this time of year.” said Ms. Edwards.

“We are seeking producers who think that they may have these species in their paddocks to call in and register their interest in being part of the study.” she continued.

For further information and to register your interest as part of the survey please contact Clare Edwards on 0428 435 615 or by email clare.edwards@lls.nsw.gov.au.

Improve your soil health

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Watershed Landcare are launching a new project which will provide landholders with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of aspects that influence soil health.

The Digging Deeper into Watershed Soils project will explore improving soil health with a focus on soil health issues within our region; soil biology, soil water and soil acidity; and adapting management decisions as a result of understanding the landscape. Read more

Don’t put your land out to pasture

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As the old adage goes, there’s more than one way to skin a cat and, likewise, there’s more than one way to improve and maintain the condition and productivity of pastures.

Watershed Landcare have a couple of events coming up that will address various aspects of pasture management.

The first of these will focus on pasture establishment and management and will feature Agricultural Consultant and Journalist, Robert Freebairn.

The field day will be held on Thursday 3 November at ‘Maidavale’, 978 Castlereagh Highway, 10 km north of Gulgong.

The field day is being held as part of the Digging Deeper into Watershed Soils project and discussion topics will include ground cover, various pasture types, the logic for each, establishment, management, soil quality and other relevant aspects.

Native pastures will be included as well as the role of tropical, annual legumes, Lucerne and winter forage crops. The hosts have also asked Mr. Freebairn to address how to best manage competition from other species when establishing pasture in their situation.

Participants will have plenty of opportunity for discussion and to ask questions during the paddock walk and Mr. Freebairn’s presentation.

Watershed Landcare have invited local landholder and inventor of Pasture Cropping, Colin Seis, to run a workshop on this innovative technique.

Unlike conventional techniques where crops are sown into bare soil or stubble, Pasture Cropping allows sowing directly into a dormant pasture.

This produces an annual crop, either for grazing or harvest, with multiple added benefits to soil health. By avoiding the need to kill the competitive pasture, soil structure, biological health, nutrient cycling and water retention are not only maintained but improved and there is a reduction in wind and water erosion and cost.

Utilising multiple species in a pasture crop also has the added advantage of minimising risk, if conditions are not ideal for one of the crops.

This workshop will be an introduction into pasture cropping, looking at principles, practical implementation and the benefits of pasture cropping with multiple species.

The Multi-Species Pasture Cropping Workshop will be held on Monday, 14 November 1-4:30pm.

These events are free to attend for Watershed Landcare members and $10 for non-members.

For more information or to RSVP contact Claudia Wythes, Watershed Landcare Co-ordinator, on 0412 011 064 or by email: claudia.wythes@watershedlandcare.com.au.

These events are supported by Watershed Landcare through funding from Landcare Australia, the Jaramas Foundation and Central Tabllands Local Land Services and are a part of the NSW Government’s Local Landcare Coordinators Initiative, supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.