Winter Forage

When do you need feed?

Taipan - Early season feed - May, June, July

To establish feed for the early part of the season, (the optimum soil temperature range for the germination and establishment of oats is between 15°C and 25°C), quick early growth is important. If you need a variety with field resistance to leaf rust that provides good early feed then you should consider Taipan:

• Handles warm soils; and
• Has good early growth.

Drover - winter and spring feed - June, July, August

Drover has been selected for its high level of dry matter production, regrowth ability and leaf rust resistance.

It has an intermediate growth habit and relatively low growing points which make it suitable for high stocking rates for all classes of livestock.

Drover is suitable for all classes of livestock, hay or silage production.

Dawson - Early season feed - May, June, July

Dawson oats similar in growth habit to Taipan, exhibiting quick early growth and good warm soil emergence.

Go to product descriptions under Winter forage for more details.

Rust - Frequently asked questions

Is rust important?

Rust development occurs in the temperature range between 15 - 20 degrees Celsius. As the temperature drops rust development will slow down or cease. Therefore in areas where these temperatures are likely to occur for a significant amount of the crop growth it is a good idea to select varieties which have leaf rust resistance. The areas are generally from Northern NSW to Southern Queensland. If you cannot plant a fully leaf rust resistant variety there are ways to minimise damage.

• Remove all out of season or volunteer oat plants
• Delay sowing until at least after mid March as this reduces exposure to leaf rust and still allows the crop to maintain adequate growth before winter
• Monitor rust occurrence and graze or cut as soon as rust is noticed - new growth will generally be unaffected
• New pathogens (which infect some previously resistance varieties) have been isolated in laboratory conditions. However these pathogens do not yet exist in the field in sufficient quantities to cause problems. Therefore such varieties are classed field resistant.

Oat leaf diseases

	Leaf or Crown Rust (Puccinia coronata) Orange powdery pustules on the upper leaf surface. Prevalent in wet humid seasons in late autumn and early spring.   Grazing Management  Graze at first sign of rust to reduce the amount of infected leaves producing new rust spores.
	Stem Rust (Puccinia graminis)  Reddish brown oblong pustules on leaf stem and head. Prevalent in warm wet weather mid spring to summer.   Grazing Management  As for leaf rust graze at first sign of rust. This reduces the spore load to re-infect the crop. Note: No commercially available varieties are resistant to stem rust.
	Red Tipping  This is often confused with rust. It is most often caused by a nutritional deficiency in one or more of the following elements nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium or zinc. If you have seen red tipping in previous crops seek advice on a fertiliser program to suit your particular situation.

Still too early for oats

Oats are a winter crop and like to be planted into cooler soils.

The consequences of planting a winter crop such as oats into ‘hot’ ground are similar to planting a summer crop into ‘cold’ ground - reduced germination, reduced shoot length and reduced plant establishment.

The optimum soil temperature range for the germination and establishment of oats is between 15°C and 25°C.

As soil temperature increases, germination and establishment decreases. At a soil temperature of 35°C oats will not germinate.

Soil temperatures should not be “guesstimated” by subtracting the minimum and maximum air temperatures. The only accurate way to find maximum daily soil temperatures soil is by placing a thermometer in the soil at planting depth in the late afternoon (around 5pm).

If soil moisture needs to be utilised, growers are better advised to plant a sweet forage sorghum (such as Sugargraze or Nectar) during February rather than risking a poor strike of oats.

Early planting of oats also increases the likelihood of leaf rust development.

Oats bags - All oats are now bagged in the farmer friendly 20kg bags.