Grazag

24/06/2026

Here we are sitting around in late June in T shirts wondering when the real winter weather will arrive. The few frosts have been sporadic and not that spectacular, but it is the New England and it will happen eventually.

The cold weather triggers a number of things on our pasture Agronomy calendar that allows us to work through a checklist and stay on top of them.

✅Sowing has recommenced

The recent rainfall had certainly given most areas a nice top up in our soils that had allowed the final paddocks to be sown, and has given those early planted pastures and crops a reprieve, ensuring they will survive and be productive. 8 weeks ago this was no certainty and we were looking down the barrel of a complete disaster.

✅The Rats Tail Tidal Wave

Our public enemy number one has made a late but spectacular arrival since the recent rainfall.

Vulpia is a real pest in germinating and establishing pasture seedlings due to its aggressive nature and sheer volume of seedlings 🌱.

When Vulpia germinates it is generally a carpet which tends to outcompete everything around it. It also has a competitive advantage as it produces an allelopathic chemical which leaches from its roots, affecting the species around it, especially legumes.

In annual crops we have a huge problem as there are no means of dealing with this germination, but in Perennials we have a few options available.

✅Insect alert

The first few frosts normally leads to a spectacular hatching of both Red Legged Earth Mites and Blue Oat Mites. The cold weather sees them emerge from their summer diapause and in large numbers will cause significant yield penalty in pastures.

These major pasture pests are not particularly hard to control, but do come with a grazing with holding period and the costs of an application.

Symptoms to watch are silvering of the pastures or forage crops leaves. The best time to check is in the early morning or late afternoon and they are easily distinguished by their distinctive bright orange legs.

✅Winter Growth Promotion

We have still been getting pasture growth in the past few weeks but this will slow down as we get more frosts.

Given how late some pastures were sown, we are not going to get real growth until Late September, but if pushed into a feed deficit there are a number of tools available to promote the extra winter production.

✅Winter weeds

The dropping soil temperatures bring with it the germination of winter broadleaf weeds. Whilst broadleaf weeds don’t have the same yield penalty as grass weeds, they still compete hard for sunlight, moisture and nutrients, taking up space in the paddock.

Like all weeds you are better off hitting them early as it is cheaper and softer on your pastures and crops. It then allows the pastures to get away where they will generally out compete weeds going into Spring.

Contact our Agronomy team in Armidale, Guyra and Glen Innes to arrange a paddock inspection if you suspect you have an issue with weeds or insects or need extra dry matter.

18/06/2026

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22/05/2026

The current seasonal conditions across the Northern Tablelands have meant a significant amount of fodder and grain is being purchased and trucked into the region. With tight on farm feed and rising input costs, we are regularly getting questions around feed quality, value for money, and how to compare different feed tests when buying. I have put together a guide below designed to help simplify feed test interpretation so producers can better understand what they are paying for and how to compare different feeds on a fair and consistent basis. Feed tests help explain what is in hay, silage, grain, or pasture and how well it will perform for livestock. All results are reported on a Dry matter basis, meaning water is removed so we can compare all feeds on their relative feed values, apples with apples.

When making these grain and fodder purchasing decisions we often get caught in the price per tonne trap as supply and demand levers get pulled all at once due to the ominous season in front of us heading into our New England winter. What we should really be asking ourselves when purchasing feed is… yes it’s cheap per tonne, but is it worth it? We should be buying feed and fodder based on its relative feed value and how much of that is packed into each tonne of feed that arrives in or on a truck.

What standard feed tests measure:

ME (Metabolisable Energy MJ/kg DM)
o What it means: Energy available to animals
o Why it matters: Determines how much production you get per tonne of feed purchased.
o Poor: 5 to 8 MJ/kg DM
o Good to excellent: 9.5 to +14MJ/kg DM

CP % (Crude Protein)
o What it means: Protein level in the feed
o Why it matters: Impacts value per tonne and whether extra protein supplements are needed
o Poor: 4 to 8%
o Good to excellent:
 10 to14%+ (hay & silage)
 18 to 36%+ (pulses & meals)

NDF % (Neutral Detergent Fibre)
o What it means: Total fibre content
o Why it matters: Affects how much animals can physically eat from purchased feed
o Poor: 60 to 70%
o Good to excellent:

22/04/2026

20/04/2026

Tough times call for tough decisions and we are closing in on some of those. Whilst huge numbers of livestock have already been offloaded whilst the money is good, there are still plenty about that need feeding.

We have fielded plenty of calls regarding when to sacrifice or graze newly sown pastures before they melt away in the dry. The answer is not as simple as it seems.

The questions I would be asking myself before I grazed new pastures are:

✅Is the fledgling pasture properly anchored?

Safina and myself toured the district this morning checking pastures on both the Western side and Eastern side of Armidale and very few were anchored enough to commence grazing. A quick tug test saw the vast majority pull out easily, roots and all.

If you graze pastures before they are properly anchored it literally becomes a one graze wonder. Once pulled out those plants are gone so there is zero recovery potential. This literally becomes a sacrifice paddock that will need resowing once the rainfall returns to normal (whatever that is!).

✅What species are involved?

If the paddock is an annual clean up crop, this decision becomes slightly easier. Obviously annuals only grow for the one season so the recovery in drought conditions will be limited anyway. Cereals such as Oats and Barley become the first target for sacrifice grazing, whilst longer season annuals such as Annual Ryegrass should be given more of a chance.

For perennial species, especially deep rooted plants that are designed to go for 5+ years, we really need to weigh up the risk vs reward. Do we take the instant gratification now and potentially sacrifice the paddock for the future, or do we hold off and wait for rain to increase our longer term yield and persistence. Given the expense of sowing perennial species, I would recommend giving them until the 11th hour to succeed. The only exception to this rule will be if the paddocks are in immediate danger of dying from lack of rainfall.

✅What class of livestock?

Sheep will be softer on pastures that are not anchored properly due to their grazing mechanics. Cattle wrap there tongue around the pastures and tend to tear them off, whilst sheep nibble and grind the pastures off.

Sheep are unlikely to pull out new pastures which will give better recovery potential.

✅How far down in the soil profile is the moisture?

If you have followed best management practice and fallowed the paddocks properly to control seed set and conserve moisture then you will be better off than paddocks that have just had limited preparation.

From what we have seen around the district, the well fallowed paddocks are looking a hell of a lot better than those that were an afterthought. The moisture layer (that change in colour and tackiness) ranges from 50mm down to over 300mm down. This very much determines how much rainfall will make a meaningful difference. For those with moisture not far down, 25-50mm will not only save them but give some useful grazing within 4-6 weeks. For those with moisture at real depth, this number becomes 100-150mm of rainfall!

✅What soil type?

Heavier soil types (basalts) hold vastly more moisture than light soils (granites) so will hang in for longer. On basalt soils we can delay these decisions for a few weeks longer and hopefully jag a shower.

In Granite soils that only hold 75mm of moisture we have to pull the trigger a lot earlier.

From what we saw this morning there are only very few stands that are in risk of dying in the next few weeks, so my advice would be to leave the tough decisions a bit longer.

Avoid grazing unanchored stands unless it is literally the last throw of the dice. The changes in colour will be the best guide and will help guide any potential sacrifice.

We are at the bluey-green stage at present (meaning we are stressed) and plants are wilted during the day, so have a few weeks. Once we get to the yellow and brown stages we need to climb into it.

One simple rule to remember is that drought doesn’t kill plants, but overgrazing them during a drought sure will!

14/04/2026

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07/04/2026

Liver Fluke Risk in Dry Conditions

As conditions dry off, sheep and cattle shift their grazing patterns, often targeting green pick around wet soaks, springs, and damp areas. While these spots may look like a good feed opportunity, they are exactly where the liver fluke host snail thrives, increasing the risk of infection.

Even in dry times, liver fluke can quietly impact performance. As stock concentrate in wet patches, exposure increases, and fluke infection can reduce feed intake, feed efficiency, and overall growth. For many Tableland producers who are already feeding or planning supplementary feed heading into winter, a fluke burden can quietly work against all your efforts, undermining weight gain, and overall performance.

Key Production Impacts of Liver Fluke

Sheep losses: ~$38.2M annually (Source: Elanco Animal Health)
Cattle losses: >$100M annually in Australia (Source: Virbac, Gold Standard Fluke Control)
Reduced growth rates: 8–28% weight gain reduction depending on burden (Source: MLA Report: Optimising Liver Fluke Management in Cattle)
Lower feed intake and feed conversion efficiency
Reduced milk production and overall performance
Decreased fertility (long-term impact)
Carcase losses due to condemned livers
Practical Steps:

Monitor stock condition and performance closely
Limit access to wet, snail-prone areas
Run faecal egg counts to check for liver fluke
Bring forward treatment plans if a significant burden is detected
Speak with the GrazAg team for tailored advice
*Liver Fluke treatment schedule image: (Source: Elanco Animal Health)

01/04/2026

It is hard to think back to last year and how different the outlook is going into winter. Last year we were that wet it was extremely difficult to get around most farms without getting bogged, even on a horse!

Here we are in April and as most people are all too aware of, we are extremely dry and in dire straits heading into winter.

As we speak year to date, Armidale has only registered 124mm of rainfall, which equates to a deficit of 178mm on our long term average from Jan-March. How handy would that 178mm be now?

This begs the question that has been on everyone’s lips, will my new pastures survive and how do we manage them from here?

The how long will my pasture survive is a complex one that depends on many factors:

✅Soil type

The heavier soil types (eg Basalts) hold a lot more moisture, therefore will hang on longer. Basalt soils will hold up to 225mm of moisture in the New England which when we take into account evaporation (Average daily evaporation in summer of 6mm), we have around 38 days grace till permanent wilting point.

On the other end of the scale our Granite soils only hold 75mm of moisture which gives us around 14 days.

✅Fallow preparation

As a follow on from soil type, the amount of moisture we start with at the date of sowing will determine how long the germinating seedling will last.

✅Pasture Species

If we learnt anything from 2019 it was that deep rooted perennial species handle prolonged dry spells and droughts better than shallow rooted species. No real surprises there, but not all plants are created equal.

Of our improved grass species, phalaris is the most drought tolerant, followed by Tall Fescue, Cocksfoot and Ryegrass. This is directly related to the root structure and rooting depth of the plants and once again the deepest rooted ones can extract moisture from depth in the soil and hang on longer.

✅Management

This is a big issue and perhaps more important than the rest. How you manage the new pastures will largely determine whether they persist or fail.

Driving around the district at the moment (as expensive as that is!) you can see that newly sown pastures and forage crops are all struggling. They are in various stages, from those that haven’t had enough moisture to germinate, to those that are patchy (up in wetter areas) to those that have fully germinated and are now in moisture stress (especially in the middle of the day).

My best advice would be to forget you own them at the moment and completely resist the temptation to graze them. Grazing plants in dry times will do more damage than droughts alone.

If we take these factors into account, newly sown pastures will survive without any significant rainfall from a matter of weeks to several months.

Prior to 2019 I used to have a rule of thumb that newly sown pastures would last 6-8 weeks on surface moisture and seed reserves before we panicked. Post 2019 I now think that we can extend that to 8-10 weeks. If it is going to be dry, I don’t mind it being early as it makes the plant send roots deeper and gives them resilience.

So how do we manage your improved pastures on the farm if the forecast El Niño continues to eventuate and unfold?

✅Leave a residue

It has been well documented that grazing below 1000kg/ha of Dry Matter in dry spells will cause high mortality in pastures. That is don’t graze them below 5cm, or a match box on its side.

✅Make use of a sacrifice paddock

Pick those paddocks that are due for renewal or are thinning out and park stock in them to feed in. These pastures will get hammered and die out but it allows you to save other more valuable paddocks, as the costs of resowing perennial pastures is expensive.

✅Sell livestock

Whilst prices are still excellent, take advantage and thin out numbers of non essential livestock from the system. Once again this allows you to test paddocks and extend rotation lengths.

✅Be prepared to supplementary feed

This is an expensive exercise and one best handled by a nutritionist or specialist. This brings me to an introduction of Grazag’s newest employee Ed Hiscox who has joined our team as a nutrition specialist, so I would strongly recommend if you are going down this route, make yourself known to Ed and he can point you in the right direction.

It really is a matter of prioritising your pastures when things get dry. Start planning early and stick to those plans and wait for rain. It is what you do with that moisture that will determine how quickly you recover.