SOUTH East sub-clover growers are rejoicing with their best seed yields in years.
The area, which produces more than 60 per cent of the nation’s crop, has been hit hard with a lack of spring rainfall for the past few years.
But Kybybolite grower Andrew Shepherd – whose family has been growing the specialised crop for three generations – says 2016-17 has turned out to be a “very good season”.
“For the first time we have had to monitor the biomass of the plant, because if you let it get too dense when it flowers and seed sets, you can’t get enough sunlight down into the developing seed,” he said.
Mr Shepherd expects a 10-fold increase in production and prices to hold up in the mid to high $4 a kilogram range for most certified varieties.
“We had five paddocks of Trikkala in last year, of which four were write-offs, and we managed to salvage a five-hectare patch,” he said.
“Our total yield last year was 3.5 tonnes, whereas this year we should produce about 60-70t.”
Their last carryover year was 2013, which Mr Shepherd says “saved them” for the next few years of drought.
“We plant, harvest and pack all our seed on-farm so we don’t have to pay storage costs and are able to sell it as demand is there,” he said.
Mr Shepherd is part of a new grower group, the Naracoorte & District Sub-Clover Growers, which is aiming to set a benchmark of $4/kg as a minimum return to the grower to ensure the industry’s future.
“Given Horwood Bagshaw hasn’t produced a clover harvester in more than 30 years, and given the tough times of the past couple of years, there are certainly guys looking at getting out of the game or planting less and less,” Mr Shepherd said.
Australian Seed Federation SA chairman and Naracoorte Seeds managing director Jamie Tidy says it has been a tremendous year for perennial clovers, with excellent germination and spring growth. He says most growers they are dealing with are enjoying similar, if not higher, prices than 2016.
“With the late breaks and early finishes, most people (livestock producers) had been forced into sowing grazing cereal crops and annual clovers, which can create a feed surplus quickly, but they are playing catch-up with their perennial pasture renovation,” he said.
Mr Tidy says sub-clover is an “amazing plant – the only known legume that buries its burr underground so the seed is protected”.
“We have an industry saying – ‘one year of seed gives seven years of feed’, which means if you manage your pasture and allow it to set seed, it will come back and always provide valuable forage,” he said.
