RM4 Vetch is an outstanding performer, can we do better?

ASHEEP & BEEF has commenced a new Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project titled Raising the Bar for Harvestable Pasture Legumes.

The five‑year project (2026 - 2030) will demonstrate how high‑performing harvestable pasture legumes can be better used to improve feedbase productivity, nitrogen supply and whole‑of‑system profitability in mixed farming systems, using vetch as the benchmark and comparing it against emerging alternatives at a commercial scale.

Background

Vetch — particularly RM4 vetch — has been widely adopted across livestock production systems in the Esperance region. It delivered strong results in ASHEEP & BEEF’s Pasture Variety Trials (2020–2024, MLA PDS), proving its worth in tough seasons, providing a combination of high feed value, nitrogen fixation to feed following crops, and biomass yield under limited moisture. It can be sown early before the break of the season, prior to the busy crop seeding program, and can be established in a mix with a cereal that provides early feed while vetch establishes.

Whilst being a standout performer, using RM4 Vetch also presents challenges. Livestock producers in ASHEEP & BEEF’s membership are predominantly mixed farmers (cropping alongside sheep / cattle) and producers are increasingly growing pastures on an annual basis as part of a cropping rotation and not leaving pastures to regenerate the following year. The cost of pasture seed is therefore pertinent, as well as the legume’s potential to add value to the cropping program by providing a disease break and naturally fixing nitrogen to feed the following years’ crops. RM4 Vetch seed can be expensive to purchase and hard to procure. Harvesting seed can be challenging if there is not a good finish to the season. RM4 Vetch’s hard-seededness causes it to germinate in subsequent crops and it has to be specifically chemically controlled to avoid contamination (growers are reporting having to supress it up to four years following). There are therefore opportunities to increase profitability by reducing seed cost (either through using alternate varieties or increasing adoption of vetch in coastal areas for increased production of seed) and by using new alternate varieties with optimal harvestability and reduced crop contamination risk.

Vetch also presents grazing challenges if not managed correctly. RM4 is a woolly pod vetch, with the seed containing high levels of toxin that can cause death in ruminants if consumed at high levels. Cattle are particularly susceptible. South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) advises that “these varieties/species should not be grazed before 15 nodes of growth or after pods have formed seed, due to the toxicity of the grain.”[Nagel et al, 2021] There is an opportunity to use new alternate varieties to avoid or reduce this risk, and also for producers to better understand safe grazing methods.

Recent research through the Harvestable Annual Legume Options (HALO) project has identified a broader suite of high‑performing harvestable legumes, and there is opportunity to demonstrate these finding on commercial scale.

2026 demonstration sites

The first year of the project includes three demonstration sites, selected to represent different rainfall zones and farming systems:

• TKO Farming – Cascade: Low to medium rainfall (~375 mm), loam over clay soils; paddock to be sown to RM4 vetch in 2026 and cropped in 2027.

• Vandenberghe Partners – Grass Patch: Low to medium rainfall (~370 mm), ameliorated deep sands; building on recent claying and pasture management.

• Ridley Plains – Dalyup: Coastal. Higher rainfall (~525 mm), gravelly sands and clayed soils.

Each site will compare RM4 vetch against a selection of alternative harvestable legumes, selected in consultation with producers, researchers and the project steering committee.

ASHEEP & BEEF has engaged Farm & General to facilitate the PDS, utilising their agronomy team to assist with project guidance, measurements and results analysis. Luke Edwards is the project lead within Farm & General. HALO researchers Dr Ron Yates and Robert Harrison have offered their guidance to support effective demonstration site design and expertise at field days.