A new rye-grass cultivar coming to the market offers unprecedented establishment speed from sowing and industry leading dry matter yield performance.
Seed for the new grass, bred by Cropmark Seeds, will be available this autumn.
Launched in New Zealand last spring, Frenzy NEA is a hybrid rye-grass with unsurpassed performance in the latest New Zealand seed industry’s trials and performance indices.
Not only is it the top variety in the 2022-23 18-month National Forage Variety Trials, it is also the highest ranking and only five-star variety in DairyNZ’s 2023 FVI for 12-month forage value.
Frenzy NEA has a forage value at least 20 per cent greater than any other variety in this category.
Frenzy has undergone robust trialling across the dairy regions of Victoria.
Multiple trials have been run in Gippsland and the Western District that underpin its explosive establishment speed and impressive yields within the Victorian dryland environment.
Frenzy is a late-heading tetraploid hybrid (two to three-year short-rotation) rye-grass containing the NEA endophyte.
A late-heading tetraploid, it has high feed quality and high leaf:stem ratio — this is combined with an unmatched speed of establishment.
Not only was Frenzy the fastest establishing short rotation rye-grass in trials, but it was faster establishing than Italian rye-grasses.
As a hybrid it also offers greater longevity than Italian rye-grasses and offers multi-year persistence when conditions allow.
Vigorous establishment makes Frenzy ideal for over-sowing into run-out pastures to boost productivity. Its speed of establishment is a real asset in a late autumn break.
Frenzy also makes a great high feed value short-rotation pasture when sown with clovers and forage herbs such as Chico chicory or Oracle plantain.
Industry leading growth coupled with fast establishment, late-heading tetraploid quality, and increased persistence make Frenzy a standout option to boost winter and early spring pasture covers and increase home-grown forage supply.
Frenzy is available via seed retailers and rural merchants from late March.
For more information, contact local representatives:
- Gippsland, northern NSW, Queensland: Adam Sheedy on 0428 132 096.
- Western District, South Australia, Tasmania: Bruce Hume on 0427 607 375.
- Northern Victoria, southern NSW: Sven Koljo on 0429 375 452.