In rotational grazing trials at Lethbridge last year, sainfoin-alfalfa pastures produced more than 400 kilograms of beef per hectare with no bloat over a 100-day grazing season.

In trials across Western Canada, the new variety of sainfoin, Mountainview — developed by Agriculture Canada forage breeder Surya Acharya — dramatically outperformed the older variety, Nova, in pure stands and mixed with alfalfa. And it persists well in grazed alfalfa-sainfoin stands.

“It fits all the criteria cattle producers have for a reliable option for bloat-free alfalfa grazing,” says Acharya. “The rapid regrowth of Mountainview, and its ability to compete with alfalfa make it very different from earlier sainfoin varieties. I think cattle producers will like this variety.”

Sainfoin is a forage legume like alfalfa, but it is generally slower to regrow after cutting for hay or grazing. It’s very palatable, and all kinds of animals eat it readily, even its coarse-looking (but hollow) stems. Its upright growth habit makes it easy to cut for hay and it cures faster than alfalfa.

But sainfoin’s greatest advantage is its high concentration of condensed tannins that prevent bloat in cattle and other ruminants, even when it forms just part of the pasture. As little as 20 per cent sainfoin protects cattle on alfalfa pasture — giving high gains without the constant risk of losing animals to bloat.

• More from the Alberta Farmer Express: Survival of the fittest key to developing new variety

In Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development trials at Lethbridge some years ago, cattle did really well grazing alfalfa with some sainfoin. But even in the course of a single grazing season, grazing eliminated virtually all the sainfoin and the cattle were at risk of bloat by late summer.

The traditional advice was to graze sainfoin before it flowered or to wait until it was at least 50 per cent flowering, so it shed some seed for pasture renewal. Even when it was cut for hay, it usually produced just one cut, typically after flowering. Some ranchers grazed the aftermath. But mixed in a pasture with alfalfa, sainfoin wasn’t able to compete. Its regrowth was just too slow and it was overwhelmed by the faster-growing alfalfa.

Many people would have set aside the dream of high gains without the bloat risk from alfalfa, but Acharya took up the challenge of developing more competitive sainfoin. He’s always considered forages other than alfalfa unfairly neglected and says focusing on alfalfa — often called the “queen of forages” — meant missing out on the advantages of other forage species.

“Alfalfa is so productive and so widely adapted, it gets all the attention,” he says. “It’s the only forage species with a worldwide trade. People say other legumes can’t produce even 75 per cent of alfalfa’s yields, but multi-cut types of sainfoin outyield alfalfa.”

However, there is a challenge to using the two together.

Sainfoin has much bigger seeds than alfalfa, so you can’t simply seed a mixture of the two. Acharya advises seeding alternate rows of alfalfa and sainfoin by using two planter boxes with alternate runs blocked, or making two passes. In grazing research trials, sainfoin effectively protected against bloat when planted in alternate rows, and prevented bloat to a lesser extent when planted in strips with alfalfa.

A seeding rate calculator (such as the one in the Decision-Making Tools section of Ropin’ the Web) is required to achieve equal numbers of alfalfa and sainfoin plants. And, don’t forget the inoculant, a different one for each species.

Sainfoin has one trait that might be considered a drawback. Every species of animal — from cows and deer to hamsters and rabbits — loves it. Some researchers have had trouble with wildlife congregating in their sainfoin plots. Bees also thrive on sainfoin.

Sainfoin has traditionally been grown in the brown and dark-brown soil zones. Mountainview has done very well in trials across the Prairies, on dryland and under irrigation. To encourage cattle producers to look at sainfoin-alfalfa pastures, Acharya and other researchers held a train-the-trainer session for applied research groups last summer. This year, he’ll be doing the same with industry people to spread the word.

Acharya’s team is also testing sainfoin as a way to rejuvenate alfalfa stands without losing a year’s production. They’ll apply glyphosate and then seed sainfoin in strips of the old forage.

A limited amount of Montainview sainfoin should be available from Northstar Seed in Neepawa, Man. in spring of 2015. Seed is expected to be more widely available in 2016.

The post Sainfoin story keeps getting better appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

But Agriculture Canada research scientist Surya Acharya took a survival-of-the-fittest approach to finding a hardy and competitive sainfoin variety for alfalfa-sainfoin pastures.

He transplanted plugs of seedlings into pure alfalfa stands, and used those that thrived to create the new Mountainview variety.

Forage breeders face another challenge: maintaining a variety of an open-pollinated species that breed true over time. Unlike self-pollinating species, such as wheat, that may be descended from a single plant, many forages must be cross-pollinated. The breeders’ answer is to develop synthetic cultivars, which include several genetic lines that combine well. Each parent must have good combining ability that means when intercrossed must produce vigorous offsping.

• More from the Alberta Farmer Express: Sainfoin story keeps getting better

Plants with this ability are then tested growing together. A synthetic variety has to include plants that maintain the characteristics the breeder wanted as they pollinate one another — producing seed for forage with consistent qualities.

The next challenge for Acharya is to find a way to have future forage varieties appreciated for their ability to persist and produce in mixed species pastures. Current forage variety trials assess performance in pure stands cut twice a year. A new system is needed to assess the productivity of a new potential variety in pasture situations with other species and repeated harvests.

The post Survival of the fittest key to developing new variety appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The biggest factor in achieving these goals is the timing of cutting, says Barry Yaremcio, beef and forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

“For every week a mixed alfalfa grass hay stand is let mature past prime, protein content drops one to 1.5 per cent and it loses five per cent energy content,” says Yaremcio.

Evaluating the stage of bloom is key, but knowing the optimum time to cut can also depend on your feed requirements at that time of year, he says. For alfalfa, 10 per cent bloom (that is, 10 of every 100 blossoms in the crop are open) is considered ideal while 10 to 20 per cent is ideal for clovers.

Farmers often take their second cut of hay in August or September, however, it is important to keep in mind that a stand needs 45 days of regrowth to fully recover and replenish food reserves in the plants. Therefore, you should not cut your stand if it’s less than 45 days to when you typically get your first frost. (For example, if the first frost in your area is Sept. 15, then the no-cut period begins Aug. 1.)

• More from the Alberta Farmer Express: Manufacturers say new haying equipment will boost productivity

It is recommended that you cut alfalfa stands around the last week of September — after two good frosts — as waiting longer results in leaves becoming brittle and falling off. As leaves are high in protein, minimizing leaf loss is important.

When it comes to baling, there are numerous considerations to take into account. Using biological inoculant is highly recommended as it is a cost-effective means of increasing yield, lengthening the window for baling, and preventing mould. Keeping your baler as full as possible by making a thicker windrow will result in less leaf loss. Keep in mind that every time you turn a crop of hay, you lose five per cent of yield — mainly because of leaf loss. A solution can be round bale silage, which will improve yield as the moisture keeps the hay together better and lowers leaf loss, however, costs also increase.

Many hay producers say spending money to boost quality and yield is well worth it.

Barr-Ag Ltd. in Olds is one of the country’s top hay exporters, selling compressed, non-GMO timothy hay and forage products to dairy operations and horse owners in Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S.

The company uses “aggressive means” to improve quality and productivity, says president Barry Schmitt.

“By adopting a similar mentality to grain producers, Barr-Ag Ltd. increased yields on irrigated and dryland timothy and alfalfa stands with heavier rates of seeding and increased fertilizer application,” says Schmitt.

Propionic acid and lactobacillus bacteria have been used by Barr-Ag to preserve and reduce yield loss in timothy and alfalfa crops, although the hay must still be put through a hay dryer for export.

• From the Canadian Cattlemen: You can learn a lot about grazing yearlings from a dairy man

If you are seeding a new stand of hay, your first step should be to have a soil test done as getting the crop off to a good start is critical. Putting down extra phosphorus and potassium in initial years is ideal as both have a maximum movement of half an inch per year in soil — therefore they remain available to plants for several years. Phosphorus is necessary for growth, while potassium helps stands resist disease and improves winter hardiness.

In established stands, nitrogen is often thought to be the first go-to nutrient when fertility comes into question. However, nitrogen is not always the nutrient lacking most in established hay stands. Pay attention to sulphur levels. A lack of this macronutrient causes yellowing that is often mistaken for nitrogen deficiency.

For more information on improving the quality and productivity of your new or established hay stands, contact Barry Yaremcio or his fellow forage specialist Linda Hunt, who started in mid-April. Both can be reached at 310-FARM.

The post It takes more than sunshine to make high-quality and high-yielding hay appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

In Texas, New Holland showed off its all-new 560 Roll-Belt round baler, which makes it possible to put up much better quality feed, said Abe Hughes II, vice-president of sales and marketing.

“We’ve become much more sophisticated in making hay,” said Hughes. “Oftentimes, I think, people just roll the dice and bale. There’s really a science to it.”

The 560 round baler gets a wider and sturdier pickup, and an entirely new rotating mechanism. A row of sickle knives also cuts the bale’s interior hay into seven-inch lengths. Marketing reps cited a Penn State University study that this helps to reduce waste and improve an animal’s feed intake.

The 560 is also ISOBUS compatible, so if your tractor is equipped with an ISOBUS terminal you won’t need an additional monitor in the cab.

NH was also eager to show off new centre-pivot Discbines, the 314 and 316, and the self-propelled Speedrower, available in three models, which can be equipped with a mower-conditioner header. The Speedrower is capable of an impressive 24 m.p.h. (38 km/h) on the road. That, according to the company, makes it the fastest swather on the market.

• From the Country Guide website: Get ready to “make hay” with new offerings of mowers and windrowers

Case IH

Back north in Denver, NH’s sister company Case IH showed off its haying equipment. The new RB565 round baler, DC133 and 163 discbines, and WD3 windrower are all Case IH versions of the New Holland models just mentioned.

But the other red brand did have its own new Farmall Series utility tractors to introduce.

“We’ve talked about CVT transmissions in the Magnums, today we’re bringing them to you in a compact tractor,” said Case IH’s Zach Hettrick.

The new Farmalls are also among the lowest horsepower models from any brand to be available with factory-installed rear duals.

John Deere

In Ohio, market leader John Deere pulled the wraps off its new windrower, the W235. Available in two configurations, small grains and hay models, the windrower is compatible with two different mower-conditioner heads.

The updated hydraulic steering system on the W235 better accommodates AutoTrac guidance than the mechanical system on previous models.

“The windrower steers a lot differently than other vehicles (tractors and combines), so it’s a bit of a challenge to deliver accuracy with AutoTrac,” said James Petersen, senior marketing manager for windrowers. “We’ve now (updated the) hydraulic system which is much more accurate (than on previous models). We’re now seeing speeds up to 17 m.p.h. This thing is all new from the ground up.”

The W235 boasts 35 more horsepower than Deere’s previous flagship model. And it has a new drive system that keeps even power flowing to the header in tough conditions, which adjusts to keep the header up to speed when the engine starts to lug.

AGCO

At its harvesting and haying equipment assembly plant in Hesston, Kansas, AGCO showed members of the media through its brand new $46-million painting facility, which is designed to put a much higher-quality finish on products rolling out the factory door, including its large square balers that wear the Challenger and Hesston by Massey Ferguson brands.

Individual components pass through a series of 17 separate dip tanks to clean and prep them for final colour coats. And more components will get a durable powder coating than before.

“We can say this paint shop is the most modern in all of the United States. And we’re proud of that,” said Hans-Bernd Veltmaat, a senior AGCO vice-president. “With this paint centre we are in the same league as Daimler, BMW, Lexus and so on.”

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