WITH La Niña creating a long, moist spring, native pasture is likely to be overly abundant to the joy of some, but it also brings forward a prospect for increased risk of grass fires this summer.
Native pastures play an important role in livestock nutrition for some farmers, particularly those in North East Victoria where the environment and landscape is well-suited to native species. The 2019-20 season also saw many farms lose their pasture due to fires, so restoring native pastures is an important step in the farm’s recovery.
Research shows that to restore native pastures you need to implement deferred grazing. While this is something most farmers do traditionally, it is particularly important to carry out this strategy after fire. Restoring native pastures will help maintain population density and avoid invasion by undesirable species such as onion grass, broadleaf weeds and annual grasses.
There are many deferred grazing regimes including optimised deferred grazing, short-term deferred grazing, long-term deferred grazing, timed grazing and strategic deferred grazing.
Optimised deferred grazing is one of the most effective strategies to alter pasture composition and lift perennial grass population and production while supressing annual grasses. This strategy requires a high stocking rate, with animals grazing dry and lower quality feed.
The period of time that paddocks need to be rested for optimised deferred grazing will depend on the pasture growth stage and seasonal variation. Generally, this occurs in spring to late summer.
