Oversowing grazing oats into established lucerne on raised beds could be an answer to the winter feed gap in south west Victoria, if this year's experience on Yaloak Estate near Ballarat is any guide.

Yaloak Estate manager John Sheehan said a 300 hectare trial of the system in line with a trial conducted for the Grain Graze Program at Woorndoo Victoria saw crossbred lambs that were grazing the oats make 35 kilograms at 12 weeks, an average liveweight gain of a little more than 300 grams a day.

"They were, Mr Sheehan said, all single lambs born to selected early lambing mothers.

The historic Yaloak Estate runs 13,000 crossbred ewes turning off 15,000 lambs a year on its 5,600 hectares as well as cropping 2,000 hectares to cereals and canola. Mr Sheehan says the property's country runs from good loamy clays through to sandy soils with some 800 hectares of rough gorge country which carries a few tussock management cattle.

"All the cropping country that is suitable is on the raised bed system, probably 1,600 of the total 2,000 hectares," he said.

"The bed system was developed as a way of countering waterlogging, although that hasn't been much of a problem in the last decade or so, and then rotating the beds into lucerne was introduced because we have a hostile sodic subsoil and believe the lucerne should help increase drainage and moisture availability.

"We are looking for a rotation of four years lucerne after six years of continuous cropping and the oldest lucerne stand is four to five years old now, due to go back into cereals.

"We always have a feed shortage here in winter and we like oats for its early vigour and dry matter production with barley planted for later feed," Mr Sheehan said.

"Coolibah oats was drilled dry with little available soil moisture into the 300 hectares of raised bed lucerne in early April.

"Yaloak received an early break for once and the oats had grown reasonably well, producing an estimated 4,500 kilograms of dry matter per hectare before the sheep went in on July 15.

The mob comprised 2,000 early lambing, single lambing ewes, with Mr Sheehan having some reservations about allowing them to lamb on the raised bed landscape.

"But the ewes were strong, we were diligent in our checking of them during lambing, and there were no problems," he said. "Putting the birth weight of the lambs at an average five kilograms, their average growth rate had to be a shade better than 300 grams a day for them to make 35 kilograms when they were weaned at 12 weeks."

"I can't really compare these lambs to the rest of this year's drop because they were early and singles. It's quite clear, however, that both ewes and lambs excelled through and after the lambing period.

Grain Graze trials at Woorndoo Victoria in 2005 showed cereals could be sown successfully into existing lucerne on raised beds to increase the amount of available winter feed by 15 to 40 percent, depending only on the variety used.

In 2006 the most promising cereals from 2005 were selected and sown into three 6 hectare lucerne paddocks to provide a spread of winter feed. This was compared to a similar area of lucerne without cereals. Results from this comparison showed the cereal/lucerne treatment carried 9.5 percent more ewes (15 per hectare compared to 13.7 per hectare), the ewes gained 83 percent more bodyweight (5.3 kilograms compared to 2.9 kilograms), lamb marking was 7.4 percent higher, and each lamb was 12 percent heavier.

This added up to an increase in lamb production per hectare of 32 percent, or 92 kilograms per hectare (385 kilograms compared to 293 kilograms) and a total liveweight increase (ewes and lambs) of 40 percent.

The cost of seed and sowing was $40 per hectare, the value of extra ewe liveweight (using the equivalent offered barley) calculated at $50.40 per hectare and the value of an extra 92 kilograms per hectare from the lambs (at $1 per kilogram liveweight) calculated to $92 per hectare.

The total extra livestock value was $142.40 per hectare in a very dry year.

Other findings from the Woorndoo trial carried out for the Grain Graze program by Agvise Services agronomist David Watson were:

Barley and oats provided the greatest early growth with wheat and barley providing more feed in late winter and spring

Lucerne production over the following summer was not compromised as long as the winter cereal was removed in this case by heavy grazing by early or mid spring.

For more information about the Grain Graze Program and the trials conducted in the CorangamiteGlenelgHopkins region, contact Grain Graze Regional Coordinator Cam Nicholson on 03 5258 3860 or 0417 311 098; Richard Price, National Coordinator on 02 6295 6300 or 0409 624 297; Gillian Stewart on 02 6263 6042; Lynne Sealie on 02 6263 6021 or visit www.grainandgraze.com.au