What plants worked best, and where, was what a collaboration of graziers, extension officers and scientists hoped to learn from three rows of seed planted along the edge of an airstrip at Maryvale Station, Charters Towers.

More than 55 species of grasses, legumes and forage trees were planted along the three rows of freshly ploughed furrows to see what would work in the basalt soil and what wouldn’t.

James Cook University Agriculturist Joe O’Reagain said the diverse mix of seed was made up of commercially-available varieties, some seed from the Australian Pastures Genebank and others collected by Senior Agronomy Lecturer Chris Gardiner.

The trial is being conducted in collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries, James Cook University (JCU), Charters Towers Regional Council, and NQ Dry Tropics.

Part of a broader initiative to promote sustainable grazing practices through research and peer-to-peer learning, the trial objectives were to:

• promote legume and pasture species for sustainable, high-yield grazing systems;
• support soil health improvements and pasture resilience across the Burdekin catchment;
• equip landholders with tools and knowledge to improve land condition and cattle performance; and
• facilitate knowledge exchange through producer demonstration groups and field activities.

Maryvale is the test bed for a group of four Upper Burdekin properties (the others being Lava Plains, Mount Cooper and Dillon Creek) as well as three other peer groups centred on Basalt River, Mt Garnet and the Lower Burdekin and Haughton catchments.

The idea is that knowledge gained from the initial trial could be shared within and across the groups with the aim of identifying varieties that will best help to enhance soil health and increase cattle productivity with a focus on developing high-performance weaner paddocks to improve overall herd success.

Seed mixes will be adjusted according to the soil types in each group.

The seeds were sowed during a fortnight in January-February 2025. The forage trees — Redlands leucaena, pigeon pea and gliricidia — were planted down the outside rows and would help provide a windbreak once grown.

Mr O’Reagain said a really diverse mix of species was planted to ensure maximum success.

The planting was fenced to exclude cattle, but deer and macropods were, unfortunately, still able to browse the strip.

The seed mixture included a range of forage sorghums, forage peanuts, eurochloas, stylos, native vigna, centrosemas, rhynchosias, desmanthus, butterfly pea and others.

NQ Dry Tropics Senior Grazing Field Officer Chris Poole said legumes and one of the sorghums, in particular, had already piqued interest because while it was ignored by the deer, wallabies and kangaroos, a mob of weaners let into the paddock for a light graze, appeared to prefer it to any other species.

Ongoing trials will help to identify forage plants, particularly legumes, that flourish in different soils and different climatic conditions.

Mr Poole said the trial was as much about capacity-building as it was about research.

He said a follow-up workshop was planned for March when landholders could see how the various species fared after two wet seasons.