Together, these two ryegrasses create something special.

 

Take one prolific, persistent diploid ryegrass. Mix it with a succulent, high energy tetraploid. Add clover. Stand back and wait for your cows and your staff to say thank you very much.

 

If you want future-friendly grazing that takes farm grown feed to the next level, sow Maxsyn and 4front perennial ryegrasses together this spring. The result is denser and more robust than a straight tetraploid, tastier and easier to eat than a straight diploid.

 

It’s a small change which can have surprising results. Better utilisation. Easier grazing management. More efficient use of the grass you’re already growing, helping dial back the need for imported supplement.

 

What’s the secret? 

 

It all comes down to your cows, and what they like to eat. Ultimately, they’d be happiest if you gave them 4front, because it’s a tetraploid and cows love tetraploids. But straight tetraploid pastures don’t suit all farm systems. 

 

When you mix 4front with Maxsyn, it’s like convincing a fussy child they’re eating their favourite treat, when in fact they are eating their treat mixed with something not quite as tempting.

 

Cows graze 4front and Maxsyn together almost as if they were eating 4front alone. For you and your team, that means nice, even post-grazing residuals, every time, with all the benefits these bring to on-going feed quality and management.

 

For your cows, that means more energy per mouthful, because 4front has high feed value; and more mouthfuls every grazing, because the combination tastes better than a straight diploid ryegrass pasture.

 

Made for each other

 

Maxsyn’s job in this mix is to protect 4front from being over-grazed, and to grow more feed than any other diploid perennial ryegrass we’ve ever bred. It’s the backbone of the partnership – densely tillered for persistence, with superior summer and autumn growth for those warm South Island days.

 

4front’s job is to make the daily job of grazing a piece of cake for your cows, and encourage them to eat all the crumbs every time they come into the paddock. It peps them up with extra carbohydrates for higher milk production, and is our highest-yielding tetraploid ever.

 

Both lead the Dairy New Zealand Forage Value Index, Maxsyn as the unbeaten diploid perennial in the 2022 ratings, and 4front as the only 5-star perennial ryegrass across all four regions of NZ.

 

Proof of concept

 

You don’t have to look far to see the results of this concept in action. Lincoln University Dairy Farm has combined diploid and tetraploid perennial ryegrasses for years.

 

It credits the mix as an important part of successfully lightening its farm footprint, including a 40% drop in nitrogen leaching, and a 22% drop in greenhouse gas emissions.

 

If that sounds like something that would benefit you and your farm this season, give your seed merchant a call today, and order Maxsyn and 4front for spring sowing.

 

 – Mark Shand, Barenbrug