ARARAT prime lamb producers Paul and Dennis Harrington are sold on plantain. It was easy to establish with good weed control of the seedbed and now the family is preparing to sow more of the perennial herb.
“It was like growing Wimmera ryegrass; there is just no stopping it,” Paul said. “It looks fantastic and there are no health issues – it is just good tucker."
On the Harrington family’s 1000 hectare Ararat district prime lamb operation, plantain is shaping up as the ideal combination with summer active lucerne.
The Harringtons sowed 21ha with Tonic plantain and Winfred rape on October 8 last year after two sprayings of glysophate to kill weeds.
The plantain was zero tilled in with a triple disc machine at eight kilograms/ha with 1kg/ha of Winfred. The crop was first grazed just eight weeks later and since then it took 650 7-12 week-old Merino lambs to 48kg live within four months.
The Harringtons also lambed down 270 multiple-lambing Merino ewes over six weeks and finished some first cross ewes that topped a Ballarat sale in December. The plantain received 16 units/ha of Phosphorus with 0.5 per cent Molybdenum in March.
“It has averaged 25 Dry Sheep Equivalents/ha with only eight rest days since we stocked it,” Dennis said.
He said only the 120ha of lucerne on their property has bettered the grazing performance of the plantain plot and now the Harringtons are looking at sowing more paddocks with a lucerne (Sardi 5 or 6)-plantain mix.
Dennis said it was hoped the summer feed provided by the lucerne would complement the autumn-winter plantain growth, with the mixed sward avoiding some of the health issues associated with straight lucerne stands such as red gut.
Stephens Pasture Seeds territory manager Karl Drever said seed sales of plantain to prime lamb operations were increasing.
Research has indicated some chemical options for controlling broad leaf weeds in stands and farmers were realising its grazing tolerance benefits, he said. ”We are seeing it going further and further.”
At the Grassland Society of Southern Australia’s annual conference in Hamilton last week, Agricom product development specialist Allister Moorhead said Tonic plantain was an awesome autumn-break plant and was persistent under winter grazing. Plantain was better than most grasses in summer but not as good as legumes, summer brassicas and chicory, he said.
“The true strength of the plantain is that it has excellent winter and spring quality. This plant is second to nothing from an animal performance perspective, particularly with sheep, through winter and spring.”
Mr Moorhead showed grazing results that put Tonic plantain ahead of ryegrass for liveweight gain in sheep over summer. Plantain has produced up to 21.5 tonnes of dry matter/ha in the Waikato region of New Zealand.
Sheep grazing on plantain also showed a big uptake of copper, cobalt and selenium and they stayed clean, possibly from a diuretic effect, Mr Moorhead said.
“Keeping dags off animals has been one of the real strengths of this pasture.”
