Plots to showcase new release cereal and pasture varieties

Grain growers will be able to inspect 47 cereals and new pasture varieties planted across the demonstration plots at this year’s Henty Machinery Field Days.

The Henty Machinery Field Days Co-operative has partnered with Rutherglen company Baker Seed Co to present the latest dual-purpose and milling varieties for field day patrons.

Baker Seed Co business development manager Aaron Giason said the two-hectare demonstration plot complemented the fully replicated trial sites at Rutherglen used to identify elite germplasm within breeding programs.

This year’s demonstration site will feature 32 wheat, 11 barley and four oats – all current and new (pending release) varieties.

The cereal trials are surrounded by plantings of rye corn at 120kg/ha, Marco Turnip, Zoom annual ryegrass and Grunt Italian ryegrass and a Baker Seed Company perennial mix sown on June 13 and 14. 

A site burn-off eliminated vegetative trash before the cereal varieties were sown into dry conditions on April 23. 

Mr Giason said the display of 47 varieties was a big increase on last year’s 38 and one of the largest displays to date. 

“The site has a great combination of numbered lines (brand new varieties destined for the market in 2025), recently released varieties and the tried and tested ones,” Mr Giason said.

“The site includes demo strips of ryegrass, perennial grasses, clovers, herbs, vetch and Baker Seed Co Pasture and Forage mixes. These were sown with an old Connor Shea disc seeder and the Henty Machinery Field Days Massey Ferguson as a nod to Henty’s 60-year history.”

Fertiliser inputs at sowing were 80kg/ha MAP plus Impact with the seed and top dressed with Urea at 200kg/ha. 

The sowing rate was set to achieve a plant population of 180 plants per square metre. 

The list of varieties sown this year include: