Forage Value Index expanded to include Western Australia

02 February 2024

For the first time, WA dairy farmers can access localised data to help them choose annual ryegrass cultivars.

For the first time, Australian dairy farmers in Western Australia are now able to access localised data specific to their region to help them when choosing annual ryegrass cultivars for their pastures following the expansion of Dairy Australia’s 2024 Forage Value Index (FVI) to include Western Australia.

First introduced in 2017 and updated each year, the FVI is a resource for farmers and producers which independently ranks varieties of ryegrass according to their potential contribution to overall farm profit. Given seasonal yield difference between varieties can be significant, this can contribute to substantial variation in profit per hectare each year.

The 2024 FVI includes for the first time data taken from ten trial sites located across WA. The sites were located at Forrest Grove, Manjimup, Busselton, Boyanup and Dardanup

Dairy Australia’s FVI Lead, Ruairi McDonnell, said that the development of an annual ryegrass FVI for WA using local trials only would allow dairy farmers in Western Australia to have access to data which was more specific to their regional conditions.

“We know that WA farmers have used the FVI to help inform their sowing decisions ever since Dairy Australia introduced it, but there has been demand for localised data to be included,” said McDonnell.

“By including ten trials located in WA for the first time, we now can offer dairy farmers data which they can be even more confident in as it was gathered in their own regions. We have found that there was a substantial difference between how the same varieties of annual and Italian ryegrass ranked in trials in WA, compared to how they ranked on trial sites in the eastern states, so this local data is much more relevant for WA dairy farmers.

The data used to create the FVI is sourced from the Pasture Trial Network – a collaboration of seed companies, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and Dairy Australia, which conducts independent trials across the country. The lists for each species are then generated by Datagene using robust statistical methodology.

The FVI ratings system is based on global best practice and was developed in close consultation with farmers, the seed industry and fully-qualified internationally recognised experts. Dairy Australia invests in this innovative resource in order to provide dairy farmers with access to business planning and risk management tools and insights to support farm decision making and improve profitability.