BRAZseed, the well known seed company from Brazil, is a leader in pastures in Southern Africa. With their conviction of “pastures are profit”, they are fast gaining ground in Southern Africa. The grass can be baled with a protein content of 18%. The ideal planting time is from September to the end of February, which means it would be wise to do your planning and order your seed now. In South Africa alone, 50 000 hectares of Brazilian grass are grazed already, and in the coming season, 50 000 more hectares are going to be planted, so that towards the end of November, 100 000 hectares will be grazed.

“BRAZseed is the only supplier of ‘bullet’ seed and the sole distributors in Southern Africa,” says Gielie Nieuwoudt, Managing Director of BRAZseed. “No other Brazilian grass can compete with us.”

The ‘bullet’ technology is a pelleting process which prevents the seed from germinating before there is sufficient moisture in the soil, and then nothing can stop BRAZseed.

BRAZseed offers a cultivar for dry land production and one for irrigation. According to Gielie, one is as good as the other and the more you fertilise, the better results the grass will show.

The seed is suitable for nearly all soil conditions in Southern Africa. “It can be used for direct grazing, standing hay, silage, baling and as a cover crop for moisture retention. It is suitable for a variety of animals such as beef cattle, dairy cows, sheep, goats, horses and game. The grass may also be planted for soil rehabilitation and integration between crops,” says Gielie.

BRAZseed is a proven success, not only in Zambia, but also in South Africa and Namibia.

This year’s NAMPO Harvest Day in South Africa was a major success for BRAZseed.

Gielie says: “The results are very exciting. The oldest crops proved their regrowth after the drought. Particularly in the dry farming areas where the rains came too late this year, BRAZseed has made a meaningful difference to the income of farmers, as it was too late for establishing cash crops while BRAZseed can be planted up to the end of February.”

The farmers who planted BRAZseed after the good rains of 15 January, attained more than R15 000 profit per hectare from dry land cultivation. The average yield under pivot irrigation was between 40 and 60 tonnes per hectare. “Our aim is to bring hope to farmers, and the growth over the past six years proved that it is possible,” Gielie says.

This is no wonder grass, but if farmers follow the prescriptions, it proves to be successful. The main benefit is the fact that this is a perennial grass. “In Namibia near Grootfontein, irrigation farmers received up to R3 000 per tonne for their baled BRAZseed grass,” he adds.

Gielie maintains that BRAZseed enables farmers on small farms to keep more cattle and thus earn an increased income.

Koos Steyn, a farmer between Hartbeesfontein and Coligny in South Africa’s relatively arid North West Province, says in his 58 years of farming he has never seen a grass that shows such a success under irrigation as BRAZseed. Koos is particularly impressed with the quick regrowth after cutting and baling. This enables him to cut and bale round one and graze round two. This is a feat that Koos could accomplish for the first time ever.

Call Gielie Nieuwoudt on (+27) 44-606-6800 or send him an e-mail to gielie@brazseed.co.za for more information on this seed.

Gielie Nieuwoudt, Managing Director of BRAZseed, proudly shows the spectacular regrowth of BRAZseed after a drought at NAMPO in South Africa.