Grain and silage corn have become dairy feed staples as producers search for the ideal rations to boost milk production.

“It is a highly digestible forage, but high energy is the key,” said Pete Houweling of Coaldale, whose family introduced corn to their dairy rations about 20 years ago.

Corn has a low protein level, making it a perfect mix for the high volumes of alfalfa fed daily to dairy cattle.

“Corn gives us a balanced diet and a good blend,” said Houweling.

Improved varieties, including Round-Up Ready ones and those requiring lower heat units, are important in southern Alberta, especially west of Barnwell (about 15 kilometres east of Lethbridge), where heat units aren’t as plentiful.

Houweling grows a mix of grain and silage corn, and last year upped his grain corn acreage because of newer low-heat-unit varieties. The sweet spot for him is 2100 units. Although he’s tried varieties requiring 2300 heat units, the longer growing season adds to the risk. When it works, yields are generally higher considering 45 per cent of the nutrition comes from the filled cob. But that means harvest must be completed before frost hits, said Houweling.

Spring frost is also a worry, but with the first five leaves produced underground, a corn crop written off by some can come back and produce a food yield. Carry-over from one year to the next is the usual practice because the nutrient component of corn silage increases in the pit. Corn from one year’s harvest won’t usually be used until the following January, said Houweling.

Gerald Slomp learned the hard way to produce enough corn silage on his own farm to meet his dairy ration needs.

“We ran out of corn silage one year, and after we switched to barley silage, our milk production dropped,” said the producer from Iron Springs.

“Now, we make sure we grow enough.”

Weather in his area is a worry, he said, although a good crop is expected four out of every five years, and the 2012 crop was exceptional. One of his corn crops was hit with early frost yet still produced one of his highest-ever yields.

Corn production requires the use of a centre pivot sprinkler for irrigation, a system that can clear the tall stalks and still provide uniform water application. That also applies to grain corn, a variety Slomp plans to test this year. He said he likes the movement in plant breeding to find varieties to meet special needs, such as corn borer resistance and more designed for Roundup and Liberty Link programs. This becomes more important, he said, because the expansion of corn production in southern Alberta will increase the odds of disease problems.

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Some of the increase comes on the heels of corn crop losses in the U.S., prompting more producers in Alberta to plant corn, while silage corn production is more static, said Elizabeth Tokariuk, Alberta Corn Committee manager.

Most corn users — dairymen and cattle feeders — produce for their own needs, although “there are some contract growers in the area,” she said.

Some cattle producers are also growing corn for grazing their herds. Total corn production in southern Alberta was about 40,000 acres, but with increases likely will soon nudge 50,000 acres, she said.

Grain corn production was the focus of former Lethbridge Research Station researcher Stan Freyman. He worked on varietal trials, and even helped organize a price premium of 50 cents a bushel (declining 10 cents a bushel over five years) as an incentive to produce it.

Tokariuk said producing the type of grain corn needed for the chipping industry proved a stumbling block. Southern Alberta grain corn could be used, but chip makers would have had to alter recipes.

The 2012 committee members included Lethbridge industry officials Bruce MacKinnon and Corny Van Dasselaar on the executive committee. Directors included Bruce MacKinnon, Bill Hamman, Adrian Moens, and Lethbridge Dairy Mart, all of Lethbridge. Others were Talbot Bergsma of Carman, Man., Harley Bell of Winnipeg, Kevin Dunse of Cochrane, Gordon Frank of Brooks, Alan Patterson of Rolling Hills, Kent Price of Calgary, Lloyd Van Eeden Petersman of Taber, Tom Van Moorsel of Red Deer, and Jim Wever of Burdett. Ex-officio officers include Brian Beres and Ryan Dyck with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, Vern Baron with the Lacombe Research Centre of AAFC, and Don David with the Can-Sask Irrigation Divers Centre at Outlook, Saskatchewan.

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The three-year study, which looked at irrigated corn silage production in southern Alberta, found that, on average, 84 per cent of seeds produced a plant. But plant establishment was 12 per cent higher in narrow (38-centimetre) than wide (76-centimetre) rows. Row spacing did not significantly affect yield, but maximum profitability was attained with a lower seeding rate for narrow rows, concluded the study, authored by Brian Beres of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, E. Bremer with Symbio Ag Consulting, and Corny Van Dasselaar with Country Commodities.

The study also found whole-plant dry matter yields and net income increased by 13 per cent when seeding rates were increased from 64,000 to 74,000 seeds per hectare, but were not significantly affected by seeding rates from 74,000 to 114,000 seeds per hectare.

However, the ideal seeding rate within this range may vary due to site-specific conditions. Producers growing irrigated corn for silage in southern Alberta will maximize profitability at seeding rates ranging from 74,000 to 114,000 seeds per hectare, the study stated.

The choice of seeding rate is an important decision for corn producers, but no single rate is best for all situations because the optimum rate varies with hybrid type, environmental conditions, and agronomic practices. Optimum seeding rates are higher for modern hybrids than older ones, short-season hybrids than long-season ones, irrigated systems than dryland ones, and corn harvested as silage versus corn harvested as grain. Studies conducted in southern Ontario found maximum whole-plant corn yields could be achieved at a plant density of 63,000 plants per hectare. Other studies in Ontario have observed a positive yield response with plant densities as high as 100,000 plants per hectare and with a narrower row spacing.

In southern Alberta, corn receives more crop heat units than in the central part of the province, and may have a lower optimum seeding rate, but is also irrigated, and thus may have a higher optimum seeding rate. Corn is grown in both 38-centimetre and 76-centimetre rows in this region.

The objective of this study was to quantify the optimum seeding rate for irrigated corn silage in southern Alberta, and to determine if row width influences forage yield and quality.

A current hybrid with high yield potential and a maximum corn heat unit rating for the region was selected for this study. A John Deere 71 Flexi-Planter was calibrated to each seed rate using interchangeable plates. Row width was set by changing the position of the opener assembly on the tool bar of the planter. Plant densities were monitored by counting plants within six 1.8-metre row segments in each plot after complete emergence. Plots were harvested with a commercial harvester, either a Klaas 900 or John Deere 7050 self-propelled forage harvester. Harvested material was weighed with feed trucks.

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“Barley is still the backbone of a full-feed cattle operation, but corn adds some balance to the cattle ration.”

Stroeve, along with 11 siblings, came to Canada from Holland more than 50 years ago and, with his brothers, built a cattle-feeding venture that maintains about 7,000 head year round in the Picture Butte area. About 15 years ago, he bought some sandy loam land, a purchase questioned at the time by many. Stroeve calculated that land, with a pivot sprinkler, could be a foundation for a corn silage venture. Today, the farm annually grows about 600 acres of corn, silaging with a used chopper and stockpiling the silage until needed.

Long gone are the days he would use custom operators to plant and harvest the crop. His first planting venture was with a hoe grain drill, which quickly gave way to a standard corn planter to obtain optimum depth control and plant population. He settled on 22-inch row spacing, similar to that used to plant sugar beets. Planting seeds six inches apart achieves his preferred 3,200-plant-per-acre population.

Stroeve’s sandy loam soil corn experiment continues to draw ‘ahs’ from passersby amazed at the tremendous plant stand.

“It is the right kind of soil,” he said. “It is also vital to plant the crop when the soil has warmed enough and the soil texture is loose.”

He has planted corn on that land every year for the past 12 years and “last year’s crop was beautiful.” He has moved to Round-up Ready corn, even on the more clay-based land, but his sandy loam allows him to use higher-heat-unit varieties that produce higher yields.

Chemical-resistant volunteers, such as canola from neighbouring fields, can be a problem that requires Stroeve to cultivate and then apply Atrazine, which doesn’t affect corn.

Stroeve chops the entire corn plant into six- to eight-inch pieces, including the cobs, to “make it as palatable as possible.” He starts cattle on the corn ration as soon as they are introduced to the feed pens, watching early in the year when corn energy from the previous year’s crop is high. When that is the situation, he adds some hay to the corn silage. Stroeve said the feeding operation, when full, uses about a super-B of barley daily.

He also grows barley, but the crop struggles if it gets dry for a few days.

“But with the corn, you put the water to it and it keeps growing,” he said. “It’s the best crop I’ve grown for production.”

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“Growers are encouraged to properly manage irrigation by regularly monitoring soil water to ensure that the availability of water does not become a limiting factor in producing a high-yielding silage corn crop,” said Alan Efetha, an irrigation management specialist with Alberta Agriculture in Lethbridge.

Applying irrigation just before the available soil water is depleted to 60 per cent and replenishing available soil water near field capacity in the appropriate root zones is key, he said. Along with achieving the desired crop response, good irrigation management will also minimize soil degradation and protect water quality. But there several factors at play, including:

• Soil fertility, crop nutritional requirements;
• Soil-water-plant relationships;
• Crop type;
• Crop sensitivity to water stress;
• Crop growth stages;
• Availability of a water supply;
• Rainfall, temperature, humidity, and net radiation; and
• Irrigation system capabilities and limitations.

These factors should be used to develop a workable, efficient, and profitable irrigation scheduling program, said Efetha.

“A workable and efficient irrigation management strategy should be crop specific, one where water is used efficiently to meet a specific crop’s water requirements for maximum water productivity.”

Generally, the goal is to ensure that water is available at germination and in early development by applying light, frequent irrigations if there is no rainfall, he said. This method promotes vigorous growth and replenishes and increases available soil water content in the entire root zone during the pre-silking growth stages.

“Such a strategy will allow modern sprinkler irrigation systems to meet crop demand during the peak water-use period, which typically occurs during the silking and fruit-formation growth stages,” he said.

Irrigation scheduling works for silage corn because it is a warm-season crop.

Silage corn uses a significant amount of water for growth and cooling purposes. Typically, silage corn requires 500 to 550 millimetres of water per growing season when grown under optimum conditions that include a crop which is well fertilized, well irrigated, seeded in suitable row spacing, pest free, and with a uniform and optimum canopy and a plant population of 30,000 to 33,000 plants per acre. When silage corn is seeded into warm soils, greater than 10°, with available water between 60 and 100 per cent of soil capacity in early May in southern Alberta, silage corn will germinate and grow rapidly. Corn will reach a peak water use of nearly eight millimetres per day during the tasselling, silking and fruit-formation growth stages Crop water use declines to two to three millimetres per day during ripening.

Typically, the roots of silage corn grow to an effective water extraction depth of 100 centimetres in a well-developed soil, said Efetha. Root distribution is concentrated near the surface so silage corn obtains more than 70 per cent of its water from the upper half of its 100-centimetre active root zone. The active root zone changes from a few millimetres at emergence to a maximum depth of 100 centimetres at the tasselling and silking growth stages.

Ideally, soil water content in the top 50 centimetres should be greater than 60 per cent of readily available water at planting, he said. If seeded in a dry seedbed (less than 60 per cent of available in the zero- to 50-centimetre depth) in early May before irrigation water is available, the first and subsequent irrigations (15 millimetres per irrigation event) should be applied as soon as irrigation water is available. If the soil is very dry in spring, irrigation is recommended before seeding.

To maximize yields and quality, available soil moisture should not be depleted to less than 60 per cent in the upper half of the 100-centimetre root zone during the vegetative through silking growth stages. To prevent this, light and frequent applications should be used once available moisture levels hit the 65 per cent mark.

Silage corn is most sensitive to dry condition during the tasselling and silking growth stages, Efetha said. Moisture stress may desiccate silks and pollen grains, and also cause poor pollination, seed set, and barren ear tips. Silage corn roots reach maximum extension at the tasselling to silking growth stages and moisture should be monitored to a depth of 50 centimetres at this time, and then increased to 100 centimetres at the blister kernel growth stage.

The timing of the last irrigation to refill the root zone for silage corn depends largely on the soil texture, prevailing weather conditions, and availability of irrigation water. The final irrigation to refill the root zone may be applied between the dough and dent growth stages, a week to 10 days before harvest.

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The levy rebate of 85 cents a pig will total about $2 million for market hogs sold to packing plants by Alberta producers, and $500,000 for about 300,000 weaner pigs (to nine weeks old) and isoweans (to three weeks old) sold into the U.S., said Jim Haggins, the Alberta Pork chair from Linden.

Haggins credits “the forward thinking of past boards who built up an investment reserve,” for being able to cover any operating shortfalls for this year.

But the money won’t be enough for many.

The crisis is most pronounced in southern Alberta because feed grains, both wheat and barley, are higher there than in other regions in the province, said Mark Wipf of Lakeside Colony near Cranford and Region 1 Alberta Pork director. There are about 60 hog producers in his region, the majority of them colony operations, he said. Average returns for market hogs are at the break-even point, he said, although some producers have market contracts that earn them an additional $10 a hog.

Haggins said younger producers and those with little equity are being hit hard.

“I just got a call from one producer who says one of his creditors has given him three weeks to come up with a substantial amount of money,” said Haggins. “If he can’t, he will have to give his farm to the creditor.”

But even well-established producers are facing increased scrutiny from lenders, he said.

“Servicing the debt built up over the past three years by producers struggling to stay in the industry has been a major concern,” said Haggins. “Now some producers with good debt-to-equity ratios are not able to get more money to keep going to wait for better times.”

Although hogs are fetching $1.55 to $1.60 a kilogram (carcass weight), people don’t seem to realize the severity of the crisis, said Haggins.

“Normally, we could make a little money at those prices, but with everything going wrong in the industry, it is impossible to make money,” he said. “In Alberta, we find ourselves in a unique market situation, where producers, already the lowest paid in the world, must also contend with escalating production costs.”

Major changes in the pricing formula are needed because it costs Alberta hog producers an extra $10 an animal compared with American producers, said Haggins.

Haggins said he would like to see packers, wholesalers and retailers share some of their profits to help keep Alberta hog producers operating, and consumers buy Canadian and Alberta pork instead of cheaper imported products.

———

“Normally,wecouldmakealittlemoneyatthoseprices,butwitheverythinggoingwrongintheindustry,itisimpossibletomakemoney.”

JIM HAGGINS

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Irrigation is key to feeding a hungry world and that will bring challenges and opportunities to southern Alberta’s irrigation industry, according to an irrigation expert.

The global population will hit nine billion by 2025, and 80 per cent of the extra food needed by then will have to be produced on irrigated land, Roger Hohm, branch head of the Alberta Irrigation Secretariat, told attendees at the recent Tiffin Conference.

“That is very good news for southern Alberta irrigators and food processors,” said Hohm. “The long-term ability to feed the world’s growing population will increasingly depend on an ever-shrinking land base and increased competition for limited water supplies.”

But those same factors have put the sector at a water management crossroads, Hohm said. “Critical decisions are needed to determine the right path to follow.”

Changing demographics, along with climate change and the variability of weather, make the future difficult to predict, said Hohm. And he said future water agreements may be designed to actively foster greater food production, and the historical allocation of water in Alberta may have to be reviewed.

Hohm noted Alberta continues to become more urbanized, and that translates into increased public pressure to protect water resources, and increased scrutiny of how – and how much – water is used for industrial uses. Climate change is another factor, although it’s not new to agriculture in Alberta and the industry has always adapted to changing climatic conditions on the Prairies, he said.

“However, accelerated changes in our climate will require faster adaptation than ever before,” he said. “We will have to change the way we think about water and agriculture, and while feeding the world is important, it will not change access to water in the future.”

Hohm touched on a delicate item when discussing water supplies. Increased water storage construction on the river systems in the South concerns some, but Hohm said there is no other way to take advantage of the massive spring run-off from mountain snowpacks, streams and rivers. Without a way to capture more of that water, much of it will continue to flow east and north, he noted.

Southern Alberta irrigators are in position to help boost production for the growing population, said Hohm. While they are already the most efficient farmers in the irrigation world, they can, and will, get even more efficient, he said. Protecting the environment while boosting food production with more irrigation, and likely more reservoirs, puts the focus on infrastructure, he said.

“I don’t believe we are really short of water; we are short of water at specific times.”

The bottom line globally, said Hohm, is simple: If ways aren’t found for irrigators, including those in southern Alberta, to increase food production, there will be more hungry people in the world.

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The warmer weather could open the spill gates for the ocean of snow on cultivated land adjacent to their patch of ground. The Lyons are waiting for a permanent solution to their frequent flood woes.

In the meantime, Terry is prepared to jackhammer through the frozen soil to open up a hand-dug ditch that has, for the past three years, slowly released the melting snow water from his land to flow into the roadside ditch. He said the village filled in that ditch after it learned that water contributed to some of the village flooding.

“I don’t want to have another sleepless night over our water problems,” said Lyon. “I don’t want to flood the town (Barons). I don’t want to flood any town. But I also want to try to stop the flooding of my home.”

In a warm spell in February, water from their ditch filled the roadside ditch full of water, and because culverts had not been cleared of snow, water covered the country road about 10 centimetres deep in some areas.

Mayor Ron Gorzitza said the Lyons’ problem has been a topic every year the snowpack is big. He said the problem is the lay of the land where Barons was developed. It is located in the lower part of a basin, and most water drains its way. When the culverts on the roadside ditch are blocked, Barons’ main street and town basements are in danger of being flooded.

A solution for the flooding woes is in the works, but it will take time, said Gorzitza, who is hoping new work can be arranged in time for spring 2012.

The Wobick family owns the land where snow collects. The family has agreed to create an easement upstream from the Lyons’ acreage and several other residences. The County of Lethbridge has agreed to build a swale there to divert melting water north and south into a ditch. Some of that water would flow towards Highway 520.

Dennis Shigimatsu, County of Lethbridge manager, said he requires permission from Barons, the Wobicks and Alberta Environment before doing any work. Lyon admits no major earth work can be done with the ground frozen solid. But this summer, it should be fixed up, he said.

Gorzitza said Barons can’t afford uncontrolled water flowing into the village. It has no storm drain system to collect run-off from rains and melting snow. The sewer lines have limited capacity for that purpose and are at risk of filling the sewage lagoon quickly if extra water enters the sewer system. He is confident the proposed swale project will gain government approvals, but the big question is when. He said cost isn’t an issue.

“We have got to do it,” he said. Meanwhile, stream flows are

below to just above normal for the St. Mary and Belly rivers, and the Waterton River near the gates to Waterton Lakes National Park. Similar readings have been recorded on the Oldman River at Brocket and Lethbridge.

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WRAP first vice-president Lynn Jacobson of Enchant said the concern is increasing about farmers’ liability if they do not have WCB coverage. “If it works like some say, it should be a good thing for workers and farmers,” said Jacobson.

“Also, with the next farm death, it could be legislated. I think agriculture is better off talking with WCB and helping to shape the plan for agriculture,” he said.

A related motion was withdrawn. It would have had WRAP work with the province to encourage farmers to take voluntary Occupational Health and Safety coverage either through the private or public sector, for themselves and their families and workers so coverage does not have to become legislated.

Lobbying the feds

Jacobson said WRAP will lobby Ottawa to shift its method of appointing its five directors to the board of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). The other 10 directors are farmer-elected producers. JacobsonsaidWRA Pproposesa system which would require the federal government to submit a list of potential government directors to the board. From that list the producer directors could choose the government directors.

WRA Pwillalsoaskthefederal government to respond more quickly to CWB applications for increases to the initial prices. As sales progress and price prospects improve, the higher prices tend to be shared with participating producers during the crop year, ending with a final payment based on individual sales through that crop year. Too often, industry has complained that Ottawa has dragged its feet in getting the extra cash owed to farmers.

WRAP will also lobby the federal government to proceed with a full railway transportation costing review and schedule regular reviews to follow. It will also ask for penalties for railway non-performance that are not an eligible revenue cap expense when hauling Prairie grain to export market.

Open marketing would also change if WRAP wins acceptance of a standardized contract for open market grain purchase agreements, said Jacobson. It would also include deferred delivery contracts with grain companies, feedlots and grain processors in Alberta.

WRAP also wants more income protection for producers selling to companies licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission. It mostly wants the existing bonding programs for producer payment security maintained. If that can’t be done, it will seek insurance proposed and monitored by the commission for producer income security.

Landowner rights

WRAP also supports the repeal of four bills that producers fear will erode landowner rights. The bills in the motion include 19, the Land Assembly Project Act, 36, the Land Stewardship Act, 50, the Electric Statutes Act, and 24, the Carbon Capture and Storage Statutes Act. Region 14 director Merv Craddock of Purple Springs asked that WRAP approach the province and demand repeal of the acts, or at the least rework them with the active participation of surface rights groups, farm organizations like WRAP and land owners.

Jacobson also won support for another Region 14 motion to lobby the province to allow micro-electric generators to sell electricity back into the power grid at the full commercial rate, and not to be limited by the single- site generation price cap.

In other motions, WRAP will ask the Western Grains Research Foundation to develop a wheat and barley breeding entity to enhance public plant breeding.

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A combination of new varieties and new uses in both the ethanol and manufacturing industries is boosting interest in the cross of rye and wheat, says Franois Eudes, a plant biotechnology research scientist at the Lethbridge Research Centre.

Eudes was extolling the virtues of triticale at the recent Ag Expo in Lethbridge, and showing off small pieces of plastic and foam that can be made into a range of household products such as hot cups and disposable plates.

A consortium of 60 scientists in 12 public institutions, aided by some private-sector contribution, has been working to develop the crop, said Eudes. Although its potential has yet to be gauged, that work is boosting the crop’s profile, he said.

Triticale pioneers hoped to produce a crop which would boast the best features of wheat and rye. Rye is more winter hardy in dry conditions, for instance, while wheat is grown more for quality than yield. Originally developed in Scotland in the 1870s, it was only a century later that the first commercial triticale varieties appeared in Canada. The first varieties were late maturing and frequently had low test weights. Acreage, principally in Alberta, has increased with the introduction of improved varieties in the last few decades, but Canada only accounts for a small percentage of global production.

More varieties coming

Two standard triticale varieties are available – Ultima was developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and Pronghorn by Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

Further improvements are on the horizon, said Eudes. Agriculture Canada has a couple of varieties in development with higher yields than either rye or wheat, and has the first variety with resistance to ergot. The Swift Current Research Centre has one close with the highest yield potential yet.

While yield is critical, Eudes said scientists are also working to increase the starch content of triticale, the most important component in making ethanol, foams and plastics.

Only soft white spring wheat, grown on a limited irrigated acreage in southern Alberta for the cookie flour industry, has such high starch levels. Both have about 60 per cent starch with about 11 per cent protein. (Corn is 72 per cent starch but has only seven per cent protein.)

Another factor that could boost interest in triticale is its ability to produce good yields even when grown on less-than-ideal soils. This would also appeal to consumers concerned about using food to produce fuels and industrial products.

Environmentalists should appreciate triticale because it requires fewer crop production inputs compared to wheat, said Eudes.

The cereal biotechnologist said he’s anxious to see how farmers respond to the renewed potential for triticale.

“How the farm community is going to move is uncertain,” he said.

In addition to supplying the processing industry, there may also be opportunities for farmers to become shareholders in small-scale processing plants in rural Canada, he said.

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