Dense kikuyu, clover and ryegrass pastures blanket most of Mt Colliary’s 1250ha

The Grassland Society of Southern Australia’s (GSSA) annual conference will help farmers sort fact from fiction when it returns to Bendigo for the first time in more than 25 years.

The conference on July 17-18 will follow the theme Evidence Based Decision Making and is designed to help producers make informed decisions that are right for their enterprises.

GSSA has confirmed the conference will go ahead after securing an upswell of support from members and sponsors.

GSSA has connected farmers, scientists and agricultural consultants for 65 years and president Tim Prance said a successful annual conference was vital to its future.

Earlier this year Mr Prance penned a “call to arms” to current and former members and other supporters to get behind the conference and he said the response had been heartening.

Mr Prance said the conference would cover a range of topics relevant to grassland farmers.

“We’re focusing on facts, rather than opinion. This will include lessons from the past that are still relevant now and new technology that is helping farmers to improve their productivity.

There will be interactive sessions and workshops on carbon, identifying clover species and a producer panel discussing setting up for perennial pasture success.

“The conference will feature a strong focus on fertiliser, pasture species and grazing management where there is a lot of misinformation so we want to emphasise the science and reality,’ Mr Prance said.

Other topics to be covered include ryegrass cultivars versus old varieties, what carbon means for your business, measuring and knowing soil carbon levels, snail and slug management, facial recognition, fertiliser calculation tool, and tools for pasture forecasting

There will also be a focus on how farmers are coping with the dry season and how they are preparing for a potential lack of feed until spring.

Conference goers will get to see farms in action with bus tours to Bridgewater North and Sutton Grange.

The GSSA AGM will be part of the conference and there will also be a discussion about the future of the Society.

The conference will be based at All Seasons in Bendigo. To register, visit Grasslands Conference 17-18 July 2024 Bendigo, call 1300 137 550 or email conference@grasslands.org.a