FEED365 aims to create resilient sheep production systems to enable farmers to increase livestock returns by grazing quality (preferably green) forage all year round with minimal supplementary feeding.
FEED365 and FutureSheep Field Day
The FEED365 and FutureSheep Field Day on Wednesday, 5 April will provide the opportunity to take a look at all the feedgap options under the autumn sun. Find out the latest on these projects, take a tour of the grazing trials at the Katanning Research Station and hear from major seed companies, retailers and nurseries.
Objectives
- To re-design the pasture/forage systems in the wheatbelt of WA to be more productive and resilient in the face of a drying climate and increasing seasonal variability.
- To measure the impact of trees in the landscape on pasture productivity.
The desired long-term outcome of the project is to reduce supplementary feeding costs of a typical mixed farming business by 30% and lift on-farm profitability by 10%.
Key activities
FEED365 will evaluate forage species from a wide selection of traditional and novel species under grazing at the DPIRD Katanning Research Station (see photos 1 and 2). These include:
- perennial legumes and grasses
- annual legumes and grasses
- specialist winter forages such as forage brassicas and forage cereals
- grazing crops
- opportunistic summer forages such as C4 tropical grasses
- crop stubbles
- shrubs.
Research site - B14
Research site - B1
The project will also partner with the Grower Group Alliance and individual grower groups on satellite demonstration sites which will give producers a chance to be directly involved in the research and see the results firsthand.
FEED365 total species list
| Total species | Accessions per forage type | Forage type | Species |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perennials | |||
| 1 | 1 | Legumes | Tedera |
| 2 | 2 | Legumes | Lucerne |
| 3 | 3 | Legume | Sulla |
| 4 | 4 | Herb | Chicory |
| 5 | 5 | Herb | Plantain |
| 6 | 6 | Grasses | Kikuyu |
| 7 | 7 | Grasses | Panic (Megamax) |
| 8 | 8 | Grasses | Tall Wheat Grass |
| 9 | 9 | Grasses | Paspalum notatum |
| 10 | 10 | Grasses | Tall fescue (winter active) |
| 11 | 11 | Grasses | Cocksfoot (winter active) |
| 12 | 12 | Grasses | Veldt Grass |
| Natives grasses | |||
| 13 | 1 | Native grasses | C3 - Microlaena |
| 14 | 2 | Native grasses | C3 - Austrodanthonia caespitosa |
| 15 | 3 | Native grasses | C4 - Kangaroo grass |
| Broad-leaf Annuals | |||
| 16 | 1 | Legumes | Subclover |
| 17 | 2 | Legumes | Biserrula |
| 18 | 3 | Legumes | Bladder clover |
| 19 | 4 | Legumes | Balansa |
| 20 | 5 | Legumes | Gland |
| 21 | 6 | Legumes | Crimson |
| 22 | 7 | Legumes | Arrow leaf |
| 23 | 8 | Legumes | Rose Clover |
| 24 | 9 | Legumes | Vetch (Vicia sativa) |
| 25 | 10 | Legumes | Vetch (Vicia villosa) |
| 26 | 11 | Legumes | Vetch (Vicia benghalensis) |
| 27 | 12 | Legumes | Lotus angustissimus |
| 28 | 13 | Legumes | French Serradella Soft |
| 29 | 15 | Legumes | Yellow Serradella |
| 30 | 16 | Herbs | IMI winter canola |
| 31 | 17 | Herbs | Forage Kale |
| 32 | 18 | Herbs | Spring Canola |
| 33 | 19 | Herbs | Quinoa |
| Annual grasses/cereals | |||
| 34 | 1 | Grasses | Annual Ryegrass diploid |
| 35 | 2 | Grasses | Annual Ryegrass Tetraploid |
| 36 | 3 | Cereals | Wheat |
| 37 | 4 | Cereals | Barley |
| 38 | 5 | Cereals | Cereal Rye |
| 39 | 6 | Cereals | Triticale |
| 40 | 7 | Cereals | Oats |
| Summer crops | |||
| 41 | 1 | Grasses | Sudan hybrids |
| 42 | 2 | Grasses | Sorghum x sudan |
| 43 | 3 | Grasses | Echinocloa esculenta |
| 44 | 4 | Grasses | Echinocloa frumentacea |
| 45 | 5 | Grasses | Pennisetum glaucum |
| 46 | 6 | Grasses | Setaria italica |
| 47 | 7 | Legumes | Cowpea |
| 48 | 8 | Legumes | Centrosema |
| 49 | 9 | Legumes | Lablab |
| 50 | 10 | Legumes | Desmanthus |
| 51 | 11 | Herbs | Sunflower |
| 52 | 12 | Herbs | Forage Rape |
| Shrubs | |||
| 53 | 1 | Legumes | Leucaena |
| 54 | 2 | Legumes | Tagasaste |
| 55 | 3 | Legumes | Indigofera australis |
| 56 | 4 | Herb | Oldman Saltbush |
| 57 | 5 | Herb | Ruby Saltbush |
| 58 | 6 | Herb | River Saltbush |
| 59 | 7 | Herb | Blue Bush |
| 60 | 8 | Herb | Rhagodia |
| 61 | 9 | Herb | Bladder Saltbush |
| 62 | 10 | Herb | Creeping Saltbush |
| 63 | 11 | Herb | Tar bush |
Podcast episode: The FEED365 Project
DPIRD Feedbase Pasture Researcher Daniel Real talks about the FEED365 project and solving a common problem for farmers in the West Midlands region and across WA: early and late season feed gaps. Joined by West Midlands Group’s Simon Kruger and Melanie Dixon the episode gives an insight into FEED365, the first phase of research, and how this innovative and far-reaching project will be working with farmers across WA, aiming to eliminate the need for confinement feeding in periods of low feed quality and availability.
PaddockChat podcast developed by the West Midlands Group.
Contact information
For more information or details about the SheepLinks FEED365 project, please contact Senior Research Scientist Daniel Real at Daniel.Real@dpird.wa.gov.au or phone +61 (0)409 016 422.