Advice for converting your land to grasslands or paddocks

With most of Fairview Estates being historically used to cultivate sugar cane crops, you may be wondering what the best approach is to converting your land from sugar cane crops into thriving grasslands or paddocks. A lot of careful thought and planning must go into this and we have summarised what the main aspects are to help you get started but timing and field work must be carefully planned as working the land on a large scale carries risks so you should always consult the advice of a farmer or agronomist to ensure a well thought out plan.

 

1. Site topography 

• How steep is your site?
• Are contours still in place?
• What is the soil condition/fertility/depth ?

2. Current field conditions

• How much vegetative cover does your site have?
• What vegetative species exist there already?
• How tall is the standing cane crop?
• How much vigour is left in cane stools?
• How much native grass is currently established?

3. Seasonal timing 

• Is it Summer or Winter?
• Is there a risk of heavy rainfall and erosion on steep slopes during the rainy season?
• Is there a risk of seeding in dry periods leading to poor germination and poor establishment?

Some established cane area’s on Fairview Estates were previously cut/slashed down with an agricultural mower and have grown out a lovely grass cover crop from the existing seed bank in the soil. This leads us to believe that this approach lends itself to a good cost effective and chemical free approach to eradicating unwanted cane.

 

Suggested approach to eradicating unwanted cane:

1. Mow/mulch everything down with an agricultural slasher/mower
2. Apply fertiliser strategically with forecasted rain to aid in grass establishment and ensure a quick canopy and ground cover to reduce weed pressure and unwanted invasives
3. Hand seed bare soil patches with “Mac mix” grass seed, rake in to ensure seed to soil contact
4. Eradicate all noxious weeds and sprouting cane stools by hand to minimize soil disturbance/erosion
5. Monitor growth of existing grasses and newly seeded area’s. Apply 2^nd round of fertilizer only if needed

 

Alternative approaches:

 

Zero till approach , direct seeding onto grass lands

1. Mechanical broadcast of seed at a rate of 12 – 25kg/ha

1. Mow everything down with an agricultural slasher/mower to create a mulch
2. Monitor germination of seed
3. Hand weed and removal of heavily weeded area’s
4. Allow grasses to establish to knee height then slash down to encourage root development
5. Monitor growth of grasses, fertilize as necessary

 

Conventional approach of tilling the soil and broadcasting seed to entire site as follows

1. Mow everything down with an agricultural slasher/mower
2. Disc harrow the entire area to eradicate cane stools
3. Mechanical broadcast of seed and roll in/firm down to ensure seed to soil contact (rate: 12kg/ha)
4. Monitor germination, hand weed and spot treatment of poorly germinated area’s
5. Monitor growth of grasses, fertilize as necessary

(NB: this approach comes with risk of erosion on steep slopes if performed during rainy season ) 

 

Adapted shallow tilling approach and broadcasting seed to entire site as follows

1. Mow everything down with an agricultural slasher/mower
2. Shallow disc harrow along contour lines to create seeding furrows
3. Directed hand seeding application into furrows created by disc harrow (6 – 8 kg/ha)
4. Roll in with roller to incorporate seed to soil
5. Monitor germination, hand weed and spot treatment of poorly germinated area’s
6. Monitor growth of grasses, fertilize as necessary

(NB: less risk of erosion due to shallow incorporation of implement and directed along contour lines)

 

Our resident farmers will be able to advise or review your planning, please feel free to reach out to a farmer on site to discuss your options, but note that all land prep work and change in terrain and existing crops needs to be approved by FEFA prior to establishment and land preparation.

 

(NB: Chemical can be dangerous and carries numerous risks, ensure you follow the etiquette and label to minimise the impact to your soil life and the immediate environment, including your neighbours farm)

Author: Scott Meyer