Keith hopes the tagasaste will increase the overall production of the paddock by providing a high protein supplement to the dry stubble. The shelter from the belts should enable higher than normal stocking rates in autumn. Establishment Keith has much more success when sowing tagasaste into a paddock if it is in crop. He attributes this to better insect and weed control along with wind protection from the standing crop. Tagasaste is sown as soon as the main cropping program is completed.
Wheat is sown in the second year and by harvest the tagasaste is safe to graze.
Tim Wylie of Agriculture Western Australia in Moora has a nutrient profile for tagasaste and is able to work out what is needed for optimum growth. Pests Rabbit control is paramount. Keith's first tagasaste planting was a windbreak along a fenceline starting next to remnant bush. The rabbits were not properly controlled and they grazed out the first 400 metres of the windbreak. Keith now starts his rabbit control in the year before planting, one lot of 1080 being laid in November and another in March.