Japanese (Shirohie) millet is a low cost forage that is quick to graze (6-8 weeks), reliable (except in the drier summers), gives good quality feed and can be harvested to produce your own seed. Drawbacks are that it is short seasoned so that the bulk of feed appears during summer rather than in the autumn, although with good grazing management it will produce feed until May. No prussic acid risk. Sow at 4 to 6kg/ha on narrow rows (30cm maximum). Avoid heavier textured soils (sorghum is more appropriate for these). Tolerates cold well. The hybrid pennisetum, Nutrifeed millet, has attributes of a millet (no prussic acid risk, good quality feed) with the drought tolerance and yield potential of a sorghum (over 8t/ha in trials at Esperance in summer 2004).

Seed is expensive (around $10 /kg) but sowing is at 3 to 5kg/ha. Moisture stress will make it unpalatable to stock until it next rains. The bulk of feed (Table 4) is produced in the summer – autumn period, but it can be grazed as soon as stock will not pull up plants. Fifty centimetre row spacings are best. There are a number of forage sorghums available and it is worth considering when and what you want to use the feed for. For instance, sweet sorghum hybrids (eg. Sugargraze, Megasweet) grow more slowly than the typical types and can be used as standover feed for the autumn period as they maintain palatability by accumulating sugars in their stems. The sorghum x sudan hybrids (eg. Bettagraze, Jumbo, Pacific BMR) can be safely grazed from 80cm in height and have good potential dry matter production. The bulk of feed is available in the summer – autumn period. Sow at 4 to 6kg/ha on 50cm row spacings. One anecdote worth repeating is that of Geoff and Leanne Tudor (Scaddan).

Geoff sowed Shirohie Japanese millet for grazing in spring 2000 after a winter crop failure. A late germination of ryegrass put up heads that produced ergot, and ewes grazing the paddock were affected. Slashing solved the problem and the millet grew on well so that a stocking rate of 17.7 ewes + lambs per hectare was used on a three week in and one - two week out basis. Conclusion; in a wet year, watch the ryegrass. Grains Options for grains include White French millet, Japanese millet (which can also be grazed), safflower, sunflowers and grain sorghum. Summer crop yields are not usually as high as winter crops such as wheat, but summer crops are of higher value (except sorghum which is around feed barley prices). Use $400/t and yield potential of 1t/ha for rough budgeting purposes. The risk for grain crops tends to increase as you move away from the coast and rainfall decreases, although the rainfall distribution over summer is very important, with January rain critical for most grain crops. White French millet is a great option for failed canola areas because it tolerates atrazine, has reasonable yield potential (0.3-2t/ha) and good drought tolerance. This millet tillers well and should be sown in September (likes a sowing depth soil temperature of around 14°C).

However it must be swathed because it ripens unevenly and will shed. It can be sown on fairly narrow row spacings (22cm or 9"). The seed has no PBR (because this variety is over 150 years old ) and is relatively cheap. Japanese millet tillers well and has good early vigour which means this millet is suitable to cover erosion prone soils. It can be sown on narrow row spacings in September when soil temperatures at sowing depth are at 14°C. For broadleaf weed control, use 2,4-D but application needs to be well timed to avoid head damage. Drought tolerance is below that of the White French millet but it tolerates more waterlogging than the other summer crops. Seed is also cheap and it has no PBR restrictions. Shirohie is the variety of Japanese millet available in WA. Safflower would ideally be sown early, in August - September. It needs a paddock with a low broadleaf weed burden and good soil depth (at least 30cm of soil). You need to avoid waterlogging and sow with narrow rows (to 40cm). No broadleaf herbicides are registered for safflower so don’t bother if weeds will be a problem. Rain near harvest can discolour grain and cause sprouting.

Grain sorghum - tolerates atrazine and 2,4-D for in-crop weed control. It should be sown on wide row spacings (80 to 100cm). It has good drought tolerance once established but likes a rain in January to guarantee good yields. However it is likely to need desiccation before harvesting since it keeps growing in our cool autumn weather. Look for more variety information on www.pacificseeds.com or www.pioneer.com. DAWA has produced a book “Guide to growing summer grain and forages in the south coast region of Western Australia” (Miscellaneous publication No. 20/04) available from Andrea Hills at the Esperance District office on telephone 08 9083 1111. Acknowledgement: This article was provided by Andrea Hills and Sally-Anne Penny, Development Officer WA Department of Agriculture Esperance, Ph: 08 9083 1111.