The invention of the seed destructor, by Ray Harrinton, using a mill attached to the back of the harvester, could be seen as one of the best innovations for farming since the development of glyphosate. Whilst the seed destructor works wonders on weed control, it also can reduce the nutritional value of pasture stubbles. Farmers running sheep over stubbles post-harvest may need to consider supplementary feeding to avoid drops in body condition.
Ray’s dream and commitment to make a machine that could destroy the seeds from harvest; be that ryegrass, radish or other weeds, to reduce the weed seed bank and allow for reduced reliance on chemicals, was ingenious. Farmers have been attacking weeds since the dawn of agriculture. Weeds cost production, which costs money to the bottom line.
Successful weed control is based on reducing the ability of seeds to germinate. Chemicals, which have been the backbone of weed control for the last 40 years, are becoming less and less effective. Over a couple of generations, weeds develop a resistance to most chemicals. This has resulted in farmers finding imaginative ways to deal with the seeds left over from harvest. Milne Sales Manager, Paul Nenke, comments: “I have burnt my fair share of header rows and chaff piles and thought there must be a better way, but what I often missed is how good those rows and piles were for feeding the livestock.”
Research by CSIRO indicates that, in the past, sheep could have grazed harvest stubbles for 4-8 weeks and still met maintenance energy requirements. However, more recent indications show an overall decrease in nutritive value of stubble, which can be attributed to better farming practices.
One farming practice, which has significantly changed in recent times, is the use of seed destructors. We spoke with a farmer who has been running the seed destructor with his harvester for 5 years. He commented that the stubble grazing period on his farm dropped from 5 weeks down to 2 weeks due to the lack of grain left in the stubble. He also observed that his weed numbers are the lowest he has ever seen, which was his main objective. Using the seed destructor resulted in an increased cropping profit margin due to reduced chemical use, and a higher yield due to less competition from weeds. A downside was that the sheep had less grazing time on the stubbles before requiring supplementary feed. However, he said he would always prefer to feed rather than spray. The cost benefit of the seed destructor far outweighs the relatively minor cost of buying feed, and the sheep production is significantly better on a balanced pelleted ration, such as EasyOne®.
What can be gained from this, for those capitalising on the cost benefits of using a seed destructor when it comes to harvest this year, is to put a plan in place to begin supplementary feeding your sheep earlier than normal. Early introduction of a balanced pellet, such as EasyOne®, during stubble grazing will avoid unnecessary, and costly, drops in body condition, growth and live-weight gain.
For more information on preparing your feed plan pre-harvest, call Paul Nenke on 0407 720 040.
