Australia’s top performing ryegrass varieties of 2025 have been identified in the updated Dairy Australia’s Forage Value Index, just in time to help dairy farmers make more informed decisions when choosing ryegrass varieties for sowing this autumn.
Since its introduction in 2017, the Forage Value Index (FVI) has become an invaluable resource for farmers and producers.
The FVI independently ranks perennial, Italian and annual 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 2025 FVI has seen the introduction of an expanded number of testing sites to make the information even more accurate for farmers.
Seven new testing sites were added to the FVI in 2025, from trials that were conducted by the Pasture Trial Network (PTN) — a collaboration between seed companies, Meat & Livestock Australia and Dairy Australia.
The PTN conducts independent trials across the country every year to evaluate new and existing pasture varieties across several species.
The total number of trial sites across Australia that are included in the 2025 FVI update increased to 37, with new locations added in Wingham (NSW), Tallygaroopna (Victoria), Penshurst (Victoria), Smeaton (Victoria), Bool Lagoon (SA), Natone (Tasmania) and Frankland River (WA).
Dairy Australia’s national feedbase and nutrition lead, Rodrigo Albornoz, said the increased number of testing sites means the trial data that underpins the FVI is now more reliable than ever.
“The Pasture Trial Network now uses 37 individual trial sites spread widely across dairying regions in Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia,” Rodrigo said.
“The introduction of seven new testing sites this year means that farmers can be more confident than ever that the FVI rankings will provide accurate information on the likely performance of different varieties.”
Rodrigo said the FVI gave farmers the tools to choose the right ryegrass variety for their region.
“By having testing sites spread widely across four states and in six of the eight dairying regions of Australia, it provides local data to the vast majority of farmers,” he said.
“Importantly, farmers can look at the data behind the FVI that is collected from the sites near them. This allows them to see which ryegrass varietals perform best in similar climatic and geographic regions to where they farm.”
The data used to create the FVI is sourced from the Pasture Trial Network based on the independent trials across the country. The lists for each species are then generated using robust statistical methodology by DataGene, an independent and industry-owned organisation responsible for driving genetic gain and herd improvement in the Australian dairy industry.
The FVI ratings system is based on global best practice and was developed in close consultation with farmers, the seed industry and qualified internationally recognised experts.
Dairy Australia invests in this innovative resource to provide dairy farmers with access to business planning and risk management tools and insights to support farm decision making and improve profitability.
Farmers can download the 2025 FVI tables now to plan their autumn pasture sowing at: dairyaustralia.com.au/fvi
The detailed Pasture Trial Network individual trial results from across a broad range of Australian dairy regions are also available on the MLA website for farmers to consider those results in any seed purchasing decisions.