Dairy farmers John Versteden, Darryl Hammond, Andrew Balfour, Tyran Jones and consultant Neil Lane – a great line up of speakers at the chicory session held recently at Trafalgar.CHICORY was the word on everyone’s lips at Trafalgar last Thursday.
Twenty six people came together to discuss chicory as a forage option for Gippsland’s dairy farming systems.
Three local farmers shared their experiences with growing and managing chicory within their farm operations while Neil Lane from Intelact Consulting spoke about the latest research results with the forage plant.
With challenges such as cockchafers and longer and longer, drier summers chicory is proving its worth.
While not providing a great feed source through wet and cold winter months, the plant comes into its own in the spring and summer months and after autumn rains.
“Rye grass struggles past temperatures of 27 degrees, chicory will persist long after rye grass shuts down due to heat,” Mr Lane, who was involved in forage trials in partnership with the Department of Primary Industries 3030 Project, said.
Mr Lane pointed out other strengths of the forage as resistance to attack from pasture pests, high nutritive value and ease of establishment.
Challenges of management include persistence into the second and third years and keeping it in a leafy productive state.
Neil pointed out that rye grass is still the mainstay of dairy pastures in southern Australia and well managed rye grass pastures are critical.
Chicory is one choice of many forage options and has strengths and weaknesses which must be explored.
Willow Grove farmer Andrew Balfour has grown chicory for the past six years.
He said it is now a part of his farming system with approximately 15 per cent of his farm sown to chicory.
He noted that it grows well on his sandy soils but does not persist well on wetter river flats.
Longwarry dairy farmer John Versteden turned to chicory when his rye grass pastures suffered continual and extensive damage from cockchafers.
Mr Versteden has grown chicory for two and a half years and has about 20 per cent of his pastures in a chicory and rye grass mix and an additional 12 per cent in pure chicory stands.
He said he was extremely happy with the performance of chicory on his farm but noted that it did not respond well to irrigation with effluent.
“I think the high levels of salt might of knocked it,” he said.
Dairy farmer from Buln Buln, Darryl Hammond sowed chicory for the first time a year ago and believes it to be “an outstanding forage option, very well suited to our farm”.
In the past Mr Hammond had planted turnip and millet crops but found them difficult due to establishment issues and pests.
“It has been fabulous for us, I have never seen anything like it” Mr Hammond said, noting that his use of chicory had coincided with the best season in 40 years.
Sown together with red clover, chicory is proving a success with cows happy to graze it.
The information session was run as part of The Future Ready Dairy Systems project.
Chair of the project group, dairy farmer Tyran Jones, was MC for the session and was able to share his own experiences from growing chicory with the very interested audience.
For notes from the day contact Gillian Hayman on 0428 345 493 or email ghayman@dcsi.net.au.
