Pasture Quality

Ryegrass pastures can vary significantly in quality throughout the year. Having a good knowledge of the variation in pasture quality during the year allows farmers to formulate better rations that are more balanced for protein and metabolisable energy, which leads to better milk production responses.

In 2016, scientists at Agriculture Victoria collected samples of perennial ryegrass swards at several different times during the year across numerous locations as part of a Dairy Australia-funded research project.

The following fact sheets were created from that research to help farmers understand the nutritive characteristics of perennial ryegrass and the seasonal changes in pasture quality.

The following fact sheets have been developed by Agriculture Victoria and can also be found on Agriculture Victoria's support and resources webpage.

While this data only relates to perennial ryegrass, similar seasonal variation in the quality of annual and Italian ryegrass pasture can also be expected.

Seasonal nutritive characteristics of perennial ryegrass

Understanding seasonal supply of nutrients from perennial ryegrass can aid in the formulation of optimal diets for grazing dairy cows. This fact sheet gives an overview of research results from all three dairy regions of Victoria.

Download the Seasonal nutritive characteristics of perennial ryegrass fact sheet.

Seasonal perennial ryegrass nutritive characteristics: Gippsland

Gippsland farmers can use this information to formulate optimal diets for grazing dairy cows in their region, to complement the nutrients from grazed pasture with appropriate supplementary grain in the dairy.

Download the Seasonal perennial ryegrass nutritive characteristics: Gippsland fact sheet.

Seasonal perennial ryegrass nutritive characteristics: northern Victoria

A greater understanding of the nutritive characteristics of perennial ryegrass cultivars during each season can allow farmers in northern Victoria to optimise the diet of their cows to match the supply of nutrients from supplementary concentrates with that from the pasture.

Download the Seasonal perennial ryegrass nutritive characteristics: northern Victoria fact sheet.

Seasonal perennial ryegrass nutritive characteristics: south-west Victoria

A greater understanding of the nutritive characteristics of perennial ryegrass cultivars in south-west Victoria during each season can allow farmers to optimise the diet of their cows to match the supply of nutrients from supplementary concentrates with that from the pasture grazed by their cows.

Download the Seasonal perennial ryegrass nutritive characteristics: south-west Victoria fact sheet