“I’m on a dryland farm pushing three cows to the hectare, so I need the FVI to quantify my decisions around pastures,” Will says.
During the current dry season, the FVI has become even more important as Will looks for the best feed outcomes for his herd.
The herd is about 50 per cent Holstein and 50 per cent crossbreds, but Will is transitioning towards mid-framed Holsteins.
“We’ve been share-farming for only three years and have a lot of older cows that need to go out of the herd,” he says.
While the average Gippsland stocking rate is 1.9 cows per hectare, Will and his wife Kate are keen to push the limits as they move ahead in the industry.
“As we get more intensive, all dairy farmers have to make sure they’re getting productive grasses off productive land,” he says.
Will and Kate share farm at Nilma North near Warragul, milking 320 cows on a 109-hectare milking area supported by about 80 hectares in run-off blocks. It’s their second share farming venture and a step-up from a previous smaller farm.
“In our first two years of share farming, we had to build up the young stock numbers and now we’re at the stage where we’re trying to improve the quality of the animals.”
Will was introduced to the FVI when he was research farm manager at Ellinbank Smart Farm, which also hosted some of the pasture trial sites.
“I used it at Ellinbank to double-check what I was planting, but it has become an even more important tool now that I’m making significant decisions for my own business, especially under the high stocking system we run,” he says.
“It helps me to make better decisions.”
Will consults the FVI each season and selects from the top five performing varieties on the index when choosing an Annual, Perennial or Italian ryegrass.
He’s found newer, highly rated varieties are working best for the red soil on his farm.
“There’s a significant difference between the old grasses and the new varieties,” he says.
“At the end of the season, I’m getting a whole extra rotation of feed out of the new pastures compared to the old ones.
West Gippsland farmers are experiencing their driest season for nearly 20 years, and Will says the FVI has been vital in his plans to cope with the tough conditions.
“I’m planning a big drill program, which reflects the season that we’re going through,” he says.
“I’ve just met with our farm consultant, and we double-checked the FVI to make sure we’re using the top varieties to get the most out of it.”
Will also consults the FVI to check when the varieties will go to head.
“The earlier the grass goes to head, the less palatable it is for cows. If I can have a longer heading date, I’ll have a leafier plant that makes it more palatable and converts much easier to milk. One of the most important things for me is palatability,” he explains.
“At this time of year, the FVI should be one of the most used bits of literature in the dairy industry.”
The Forage Value Index is one of the many ways that Dairy Australia delivers outcomes from research to improve herd and feed genetics, as well as providing farmers with insights to support their decision making.
The 2025 FVI tables are available now at Forage Value Index | Dairy Australia.
The FVI tables have been developed annually since 2017 by Dairy Australia, in collaboration with DataGene, Meat & Livestock Australia and the Pasture Trials Network. It provides an independent and reliable assessment on the potential economic value of Perennial, Italian and Annual ryegrass cultivars.
