AS dry winds whip through the Riverina and temperatures soar into the high 30s a crop of lucerne paints a picture of optimism.
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With sheep and cattle prices staying buoyant during the current dry times anything that offers fodder opportunities has to be considered valuable.
At Mangoplah the McRae family are pleased with how a newly-planted paddock of lucerne is holding up.
Brothers Frank and Bernie McRae, "Spring Valley," made the decision to try the relatively new variety called Titan 5.
The hybrid lucerne was sown on June 28, which is considered late for this region, at a rate of 15kg/ha.
And while the rainfall has been limited they are confident that this lucerne will help to finish prime lambs and provided some hay as well.
Agronomist with Ag n Vet Services at Mangoplah, Greg Parker, explained that the region had received 378mm of rainfall for the year so far.
In August 18.5mm fell, followed by 15.5mm for September, 10mm in October and 37mm in November.
Frank McRae, who is product development manager with AusWest Seeds, inspected the family operation and was pleased with how the lucerne is coming along.
He said the crop was flowering, and it hadn't been grazed at this stage, but it was likely the gates would soon be opened to allow some prime lambs on the paddock.
Mr McRae said the variety originated from the University of Queensland.
"It is a hybrid and it is a bit unique to what we have seen in Australian lucerne breeding to date," he said.
He said lucerne was considered to have 'plateaued' in terms of yields and as a result breeders looked for traits that would improve this.
Despite being sown later than ideal he said the results at this stage of the season were good.
"We made sure that the paddock preparation was right and we were happy with the predictions that it was going to be a milder winter with warmer soil temperatures," he said.
"I think it is (looking) phenomenal," he said.
"Every paddock is a little bit different depending on the soil types and prior history," he said.
Aside from providing stock fodder Mr McRae sand lucerne was a valuable crop for providing some form of buffer against bush fires.
"In the past we have seen fires pass though areas where lucerne is planted ... and what you can see after the fire is that the fire actually tracks around the lucerne," he said.
He said lucerne could be used as a way of reducing the risk around homesteads and hay sheds.
Rural journalist with Fairfax media based in the Riverina.
Rural journalist with Fairfax media based in the Riverina.
