Finalists will be selected this spring, with up to two winners to be announced in 2028, who will each receive up to $1 million to scale their solutions.

Leduc, a sheep and beef farmer with a PhD in animal science from Université Laval who completed post-graduate work with McGill and Lactanet, kept running into the same issue: Farmers are being encouraged to adopt best management practices for forages, but few had the data needed to know whether those changes actually worked.

“Forage systems are long-term systems,” he said.

“If you make a mistake in seeding, you might not see the impact for a long time. If you choose the wrong bull, it’s two years before you fully understand the outcome.”

That makes it harder to connect management decisions to results — and even harder to justify change. The core problem, Leduc said, is data.

“In forage systems, data is not collected in a standardized way. Producers want answers right away. But to get analytics, you need data — and in forage, that takes time,” he said, adding this gap limits progress not only on productivity, but also on greenhouse gas reductions.

Enter Mon Système Fourrager, an integrated platform that connects data “from soil to animal,” letting users log and import field management data, harvest information, forage and silage analyses, and observations such as winter survival or stand density.

Leduc also acquired and is modernizing EweManage, a sheep and goat management software program, and is developing Agri-Doc, a module for agronomists to easily log information during farm visits, generate reports required for provincial support programs and transcribe voice notes directly into structured records. The goal is to make data capture faster and less burdensome.

“Data collection is like accounting —rationally, it’s good. Emotionally, it’s boring.”

Maxime Leduc

He is also experimenting with mobile chatbot interfaces that will allow producers to ask questions and receive insights based on their own Excel-based records.

According to Leduc, helping producers measure yields, track forage analyses and link feed quality to animal performance will support more precise feeding strategies that can improve digestibility, reduce methane intensity and increase overall farm efficiency.

Leduc emphasized that practices that reduce emissions often also improve profitability — but only if producers can see and measure the impact.

“You need to recognize you have a problem, know the possible solutions, evaluate them and then monitor the results,” he said.

“Without data, you can’t do that.”

Rather than marketing directly to individual producers one by one, Leduc is focusing on partnerships with forage labs and agronomists who already need to collect and interpret data. If advisers adopt the platform, producers are more likely to follow.

He currently has a few hundred users of his technologies, mostly in Quebec, where he works closely with a network of producers, agronomists, agricultural organizations like the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association, and forage labs.

Next milestones include launching the agronomists’ tool and hopefully advancing to the final round of the methane challenge, which would provide an additional grant of up to $500,000 to support further development and testing of his system. He’s also received funding from Investissement Quebec.

His longer-term vision is straightforward: keep the business viable and help producers become more profitable while reducing their environmental footprint. The forage sector’s future depends on closing the data gap, he says.

“The answer lies in accessing and leveraging the data producers already collect, but don’t use fully,” he said.

The post From soil to stall: the digital platform closing the data gap in methane reduction appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

A University of Guelph-funded global study tracking 61 unfertilized grassland sites across six continents over 15 years found that fertilization increased pasture biomass by an average of 43 per cent.

A three-year forage fertility trial at Elora conducted through the Ontario Forage Network produced similar findings.

The U of G study, part of the university’s Food From Thought program, underscores what many agronomists have long suspected: pasture fertility is one of the most underutilized levers in beef cattle production.

“Improved pasture fertility can absolutely bring improved yield — and improved production, which can absolutely enhance that pasture,” said Colin Elgie, soil fertility specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA), speaking during the Beef is ON fall webinar series.

How pasture fertility differs from row crops

Unlike row crops, pastures draw down soil fertility more slowly. However, several factors still deplete nutrients over time:

• Organic matter breakdown
• Soil pH changes from precipitation and erosion
• Nutrient removal through harvesting, grazing, and manure management

The scale of removal depends on production type. Removing two tons per acre of grass-legume hay strips approximately 80 lbs. of nitrogen (N), 22 lbs. of phosphorus (P), and 90 lbs. of potassium (K) per acre. By contrast, cow-calf stocking at a half pair per acre removes only 5 lbs. N, 3.4 lbs. P, and 0.6 lbs. K per acre.

“We’re actually taking more off the field, but through urine and manure, that nitrogen is returning,” Elgie explained — though he noted that a quarter to half of that nitrogen can be lost through volatilization.

Livestock meat and milk production also removes roughly 10 to 30 per cent of ingested phosphorus and potassium from the field.

Why soil testing is the critical first step

Elgie emphasized that no single fertilizer program fits every pasture — making soil testing essential before any fertility decisions are made.

Proper soil sampling technique matters as much as frequency. Key guidelines include:

• Frequency: Sample every four to five years
• Cores: A minimum of 20 cores per field, taken in a zig-zag pattern
• Depth: Six inches, to capture the nutrient-rich root zone
• Tools: Use stainless steel probes and plastic pails — avoid galvanized metal tools, as zinc can leach into soil and skew nutrient analysis
• Labelling: Clearly and correctly label each sample

“We want that nutrient-rich zone where the majority of the roots are, the majority of the nutrients are, to really get a good analysis of what’s going on,” Elgie said.

Putting soil test data to work

Once producers have soil test results, Elgie recommends using OMAFA’s AgriSuite tools to:

• Input soil test results
• Generate crop-specific nutrient recommendations
• Estimate nutrient removal rates under grazing or haying scenarios

Sampling helps identify deficient and limiting nutrients, monitor fertility shifts over time, guide lime decisions, and prevent both over- and under-fertilization — a critical consideration, since pastures rarely have uniform fertility across a field.

Bottom line for beef cattle producers

Soil fertility management is not a one-time fix. It requires consistent monitoring and a willingness to tailor fertilizer programs to individual pasture conditions. But the return on investment — in the form of higher forage yields, healthier pastures, and stronger farm profitability — makes it one of the most cost-effective management tools available.

“One fertilizer program is not really going to fit every single pasture,” Elgie said.

The post How soil fertility management can boost pasture yield by 43 per cent appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“Everybody understood that the cuts would be coming because of the way things are, but what we’re disappointed in is that it appears as though the cuts were made without much consideration of industry priority,” said Reynold Bergen, science director with the Beef Cattle Research Council.

WHY IT MATTERS: The drastic cut to agricultural research will have a long-lasting impact on Canada’s ability to remain competitive in the global agriculture industry.

“We weren’t consulted, but we were kind of expecting that the votes of confidence we have put in in the past based on past funding decisions or funding investments in these programs would indicate where our priorities are and those priorities don’t line up with the decisions that have been made here.”

Breanne Tidemann, a weed scientist at Lacombe, wrote on X: “I’ve always shared about my research on here so a brief update on my situation. My position in Lacombe has been terminated as the station is being closed. I have been given an opportunity to stay with AAFC if I relocate. My family and I are weighing our options.”

There are no imminent site closures and the wind-down of scientific operations could take up to 12 months, said the department.

Bergen said the news has caused uncertainty.

“We don’t totally know what the impact is going to be on cattle or beef or forage research because we don’t know which researchers have been eliminated and might be relocated to other sites,” he said.

“It’s going to be some mix of both, but we don’t know how many and we don’t know who.”

Lacombe County said in a social media post that it was deeply disappointed with the federal government’s decision to close the centre, which has been in operation for 50 years, and called on Ottawa to pause the move.

The county said more than 100 centre employees and their families have been affected by the closure, as well as industry partners.

Lacombe was a major site for cow-calf forage and grazing research, as well as meat science, grading research and food safety.

“This is going to be a big loss. We just don’t exactly know what is being lost yet,” said Bergen.

The loss of Lacombe will be a hit to the industry, but the Quebec City research station will be also be a loss because it has been the site of extensive forage breeding.

“Quebec’s a long way away, but the varieties they develop there go all across the country,” he said.

• READ MORE: Beef industry weighs in on AAFC research cuts

Bergen said time will tell how the closure of the research stations will affect agriculture across Canada.

“The insidious part about cutting research is that it’s like a long hose. Think of water running out of a long hose, and you shut the tap off. Water keeps running until it doesn’t. With research, there’s such a long fuse on research that it might be 20 years before you start to wonder, ‘Well, how come nothing’s improving here?’ And it’s because of the cuts that were made so long ago.”

Ken Coles, executive director of Farming Smarter, called the Lacombe closure a “catastrophe.”

“I think it’s a shame and disgrace as a country that we’re not supporting one of the foundations of our country in an appropriate manner that will keep the industry competitive and vibrant on the world stage.”

The post Lacombe research centre closure called ‘catastrophe’ appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Other research stations that will close are at Guelph, Ont., and Quebec City.

Satellite research farms at Nappan, N.S., Scott, Sask., Indian Head, Sask., and Portage la Prairie, Man., will also close.

WHY IT MATTERS: The drastic cut to agricultural research will have a long-lasting impact on Canada’s ability to remain competitive in the global agriculture industry.

About 665 department positions have been reduced and nearly 1,050 employees received notification on Jan. 22. Some staff from Lacombe have been let go, while others have been given the option to relocate.

“Everybody understood that the cuts would be coming because of the way things are. But what we’re disappointed in is that it appears as though the cuts were made without much consideration of industry priority,” Reynold Bergen, science director with the Beef Cattle Research Council, said.

“We weren’t consulted, but we were kind of expecting that the votes of confidence we have put in in the past based on past funding decisions or funding investments in these programs would indicate where our priorities are and those priorities don’t line up with the decisions that have been made here,” Bergen said.

Breanne Tidemann, weed scientist at the research and development centre in Lacombe, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I’ve always shared about my research on here so a brief update on my situation. My position in Lacombe has been terminated as the station is being closed. I have been given an opportunity to stay with AAFC if I relocate. My family and I are weighing our options.”

There are no imminent site closures and the wind-down of scientific operations could take up to 12 months, AAFC said.

“We don’t totally know what the impact is going to be on cattle or beef or forage research, because we don’t know which researchers have been eliminated and might be relocated to other sites,” Bergen said.

“It’s going to be some mix of both, but we don’t know how many and we don’t know who.

“All we know for sure is this is a concerning thing, and it’s frustrating because as industry, we’ve made it clear that forage and cattle and beef research is important. We were hoping they would take our funding commitments into consideration when they were deciding what to cut. That doesn’t seem to be the case.”

County of Lacombe not happy with the decision

Lacombe County said in a social media post that it was deeply disappointed with the federal government’s decision to close the Lacombe Research and Development Centre, which has been in operation for 50 years, and called on Ottawa to pause the move. The county said more than 100 centre employees and their families have been affected by the closure, as well as industry partners.

Lacombe was a major site for cow-calf forage and grazing research, as well as meat science, food safety and grading research.

“This is going to be a big loss. We just don’t exactly know what is being lost yet,” Bergen said.

In an impromptu speech at the Crossroads Crop Conference in Edmonton Jan. 27, Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson expressed her frustration over the closure of the centre.

“In my opinion this is another attack or assault on the agriculture industry in Alberta and in Canada.”

She suggested advocacy may be able to turn the federal government’s decision around.

“I think it’s really important we stand in solidarity with each other as commissions and associations. … Let’s bring some honey to this, not vinegar.”

Forage breeding research in Quebec

The loss of Lacombe will be a hit to the industry, but the Quebec City research station closure will be also be impactful because it has been the site of extensive forage breeding.

“Quebec’s a long way away, but the varieties they develop there go all across the country,” he said.

Bergen said time will tell how the closure of the research stations will affect agriculture across Canada.

“The insidious part about cutting research is that it’s like a long hose. Think of water running out of a long hose, and you shut the tap off. Water keeps running until it doesn’t. With research, there’s such a long fuse on research that it might be 20 years before you start to wonder, ‘Well, how come nothing’s improving here?’ And it’s because of the cuts that were made so long ago.”

Bad decision for both cattle and crops

“Generally, I think it’s a catastrophe,” said Ken Coles, executive director of Farming Smarter, a Lethbridge-based innovation hub in agriculture crop production.

“I think we’ve got an eroding platform and ability to serve our farmers across the country, and further cuts, especially to rural locations, is a terrible blow. The unfortunate part is that once this decision is made, I don’t think we’ll ever get it back. Not only are you losing the positions, but you’re losing the facilities, and you’re losing the impact and connection to the rural community.

“I think it’s a shame and disgrace as a country that we’re not supporting one of the foundations of our country in an appropriate manner that will keep the industry competitive and vibrant on the world stage.”

Coles said the closure of the Lacombe Research and Development Centre will have an economic impact.

“It’s not just this one choice. It’s been a series of changes in investment that, over time, will be economically impactful,” he said.

The industry has been affected by federal, provincial and even private changes to investment.

“The biggest concern I have overall with our agricultural innovation system is a complete HR crisis. I don’t think we have the human capital to deal with any challenges that we might be faced with in the future, and we certainly won’t be able to take advantage of any opportunities and innovation. It’s been a critical loss in capacity that allowed us to do great things in agriculture. I think we no longer have it,” he said.

Scientists who will be forced into retirement because of the closure will not be available for mentorship, he added.

“If I want to hire a scientist, I can’t find anybody that has the skill set to step into the role. I’m now having to start from scratch and train from the ground up.”

The knowledge of the “old guard” is going to be lost.

“Everybody’s excited and sold these grand ideas of new technologies solving it. But you still hear the same message that we’re failing at adopting and commercializing innovation because all the innovation is on this public entrepreneur piece and they don’t know how to add value in agriculture,” said Coles.

“It’s another blow to breaking the entire innovation system in agriculture across the country. Specifically, who is left behind has lost the ability to partner.”

— with files from Jeff Melchior

The post AAFC’s Lacombe Research and Development faces imminent closure appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

While iron deficiency is a well-recognized concern in human health, dietary iron deficiency has never been documented in adult horses.

Iron carries a certain mystique in equine nutrition. Its association with blood and performance, particularly in the racing industry, has fostered the widespread belief that supplementing iron can boost energy or enhance oxygen delivery. In reality, the opposite is true for most horses. Chronic iron excess is now recognized as a silent yet pervasive disruptor of health.

Approximately 60 per cent of the body’s iron is bound within hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in red blood cells from the lungs to the tissues. Another 20 per cent resides in myoglobin within muscles, storing oxygen for movement. The remainder exists in storage and transport proteins — such as ferritin and transferrin — and within immune cells in the liver and spleen.

Iron efficiency

Horses are remarkably efficient at recycling and regulating iron.

Red blood cells live about 150 days, after which their iron is reclaimed to form new cells.

Losses are minimal, and the hormone hepcidin serves as the regulatory gatekeeper controlling iron absorption and storage. Under normal circumstances, this system ensures that horses rarely — perhaps never — require supplemental iron.

In nature, horses are surrounded by iron. It is abundant in grasses, hays, grains and even water. A typical 500 kilogram horse consuming 10 kg of timothy hay daily, containing around 250 milligrams of iron per kg, ingests more than 2,500 mg of iron, which is well above the National Research Council minimum requirement of 400 mg per day and comfortably below the upper safe limit of 5,000 mg.

Thus, a horse on a typical forage-based diet will receive sufficient iron.

Iron in feed

It’s important to recognize that all plant-based feed ingredients naturally contain iron, so most commercial feeds already supply more than enough.

If iron is specifically added to a feed product, it appears on labels as iron oxide, ferrous fumarate, ferrous sulfate or ferrous gluconate. These forms of supplemental inorganic iron are best avoided.

Additional sources can include certain salt blocks, which may appear reddish due to iron enrichment. Like fortified feeds, these sources of inorganic iron can contribute to chronic overload.

The problem with iron

The problem with high iron is not just the iron itself but how it disrupts the delicate balance of other essential minerals.

In the small intestine, iron, copper, zinc and manganese all compete for the same transport proteins. When iron levels are excessive, it can “crowd out” copper and zinc, preventing adequate absorption, even when diets appear balanced.

This mineral imbalance often develops subtly, leaving owners unaware of the underlying cause as structural and metabolic issues begin to surface.

Not all sources of dietary iron are obvious.

Pastures grown on iron-rich soil, or on soil acidified by modern agricultural practices, tend to increase the amount of iron available for plant uptake, resulting in forage with elevated iron content.

Horses grazing on such pastures may ingest far more iron than needed, particularly if copper and zinc levels are already low.

Well water containing more than 10 mg per litre of iron can further elevate total intake, and when combined with fortified feeds or multiple supplements, daily levels can easily exceed safe limits.

Collectively, these environmental and management factors make chronic iron excess a more realistic concern than deficiency in the modern horse.

Over time, this slow accumulation takes a toll.

Horses consuming iron-rich forages, feed or water or receiving unnecessary supplementation may show telltale signs such as rusty tips on dark manes, dull or reddish coats, brittle hoofs or recurring abscesses.

These subtle changes reflect underlying interference with copper, zinc and manganese absorption, minerals essential for connective tissue strength, joint health and hoof integrity. Left unchecked, the imbalance can contribute to fatigue, inflammation, weakened immunity and metabolic instability.

Emerging evidence further suggests that chronic iron overload may play a contributing role in metabolic disorders such as equine metabolic syndrome and laminitis.

Excess iron interferes with trace mineral balance and enzymatic function, disrupting insulin regulation and connective tissue health.

Horses grazing on high-iron, high-sugar pastures or consuming iron-rich concentrates may therefore be more susceptible to metabolic stress.

In this context, iron acts as an environmental factor that interacts with diet, water quality and individual metabolic resilience to potentially tip the balance toward insulin resistance and laminitic episodes.

Avoiding a problem

Horse owners can take several proactive steps to safeguard mineral balance.

Begin by testing forage and water, especially in regions with mineral-rich or acidic soils.

Evaluate trace mineral ratios, maintaining Fe:Cu:Zn between roughly 4:1:4 and 10:1:4 to offset excess iron’s effects.

Adjust feeding management as needed by offering tested hay, rotating or blending pastures and sourcing alternative water if necessary.

Under veterinary guidance, blood testing for ferritin and transferrin can help assess stored iron and detect early metabolic stress.

Iron is undeniably essential for equine health, yet for many horses, the challenge lies not in a deficiency, but in maintaining balance and avoiding excess.

The post Beware giving horses too much iron appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) application window opens Feb. 1, with a 70 per cent rebate on approved projects with an approved grazing plan in hand.

“Don’t wait until the very end of January to start your application,” forage specialist Jodie Horvath said in a presentation at the Innovation on the Range event in Bow Island, Alta., last month.

“You have lots of time to work on it (grazing plan) over the winter. It’s a perfect time to do some kitchen table design of maps and what not. There is help for doing these applications, and there’s also lots of workshops to help throughout the winter, throughout the provinces.”

The fund applies to rotational grazing with fencing, water and perennial seeding categories eligible for funding.

Items such as cross or electrical fencing, virtual fence collars, portable crops, flow-line pipelines or shallow barren pipelines for water development are covered along with mobile units. Drilling or broadcasting legumes into existing stands to improve them are covered for seeding.

“Water development, not source water. There’s other programs that cover that, like digging wells and dugouts,” said Horvath.

Alberta was given $21 million this year to distribute to producers, enough for 42 projects.

“We have some projects that are massive. We have one that is 1,300 hectares that are looking to go in and intensify their grazing, so they needed a razor grazer and they seeded, they put in $70,000 worth of seed,” said Sonja Shank, program co-ordinator at the Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta, which helps deliver the OFCAF funding.

“So make sure you are in the know of what is out there. I’ll go into some of these meetings and nobody heard of OFCAF. And then I feel bad because it was a $210 million program across the country.”

Many tools are available to ranchers, including the online advanced grazing systems that can help producers get started on the application process and access help from mentors.

Project reimbursement for producers who become mentors increases from 70 to 85 per cent. There are currently 200 mentors, with more being trained over the winter.

An advanced grazing program helps with:Extending the grazing period.

Increasing pasture yields.

Improving forage quality for livestock.

Reducing weed pressure.

Improving nutrient cycling.

Helping build soil health.

The OFCAF’s objective is to support farmers in adopting beneficial management practices that store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases, specifically in nitrogen management, cover cropping and rotational grazing practices

The CFGA works solely to support the rotational grazing practices stream in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Shank is the contact for Alberta OFCAF along with other available programs. Funding can be retroactive for purchases made after February 2025.

The post The planning time is now for approved grazing plan for upcoming On-Farm Climate Fund applications for early 2026 appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

A new course by the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association delves into all these components and more.

“The High-Performance Forage course will be available early in 2026 to producers, agronomists and technical teams interested in improving the quality of Canadian forage available for market both domestically and internationally,” according to Kaylee Healy, the CFGA’s communications and knowledge technology transfer logistics manager.

The course covers a range of topics designed to give participants in-depth knowledge on the different aspects of growing high-performance forage across Canada, including examining regional challenges.

This 12-module course is designed for producers who are already growing forage and who are ready to take their product to the next level to take advantage of existing and new markets. Participants can expect to walk away with an in-depth understanding of forage production and practical next steps to improve the quality of forage produced by their operations.

The course is being developed with the help of forage specialist Dan Undersander from the University of Wisconsin, who brings knowledge of more than five decades of advancing forage production.

His expertise spans all aspects of forage management, including production and harvesting methods for hay, haylage, baleage and silage, as well as forage analysis and grazing. His work is supported by other subject matter experts from across Canada and the United States.

“We’ve been building this information for the last three years with Dr. Undersander,” Healy said.

“It’s building on a series of workshops held back in the early 2000s. They were in-person workshops geared towards agronomists and technical experts in forage to help develop higher-quality forage across Canada.”

Course content

The course takes a ground-up approach, starting with planning growing systems, defining the rations and yield potential. Planning the system helps identify goals, determine labour and management costs and determine crop goals. It is the foundation for the rest of the course and includes elements to help producers track and assess performance.

It’s important to understand the seed mix, including seed genetics, which will grow best in a producer’s region based on climate, soil fertility and other growing conditions.

The module also looks at seeding rates and seeding strategies.

Fertility is an important component of growing quality forage. It begins with understanding the nutrients and density required to match the seed selection made.

Emphasis on soil testing illustrates the need to understand soil pH and existing nutrients, plus soil additives including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium and magnesium. This module also explores the use of liquid and solid manure and touches on the impact of salinity.

Seed management looks at different tillage systems designed to facilitate proper seed placement and other seedbed preparation considerations, while weed control covers topics such as assessing weed pressures and challenges. It specifically looks at when weeds cause a problem, how to manage weeds through pre-seeding and post-seeding, mechanical needs for weed control and when spraying may be required.

Disease and pest management dives into understanding the pressures that these problems place on crops. The module looks at how to identify problems and manage them.

The course offers a diverse look at harvesting and harvest systems, beginning with targeted harvesting time. This is a natural segue into matching forage quality to animal requirements and targeting moisture levels at harvest.

The harvest module also looks at minimizing field losses, selecting the best mower for your operation, the use of conditioning systems, racking, preservation and making baleage.

Making forage is only part of the equation. The course also features modules on storage including packing density, bunk filling rates and other storage considerations to minimize loss.

Producers feeding out forage will appreciate the module on feed-out management, which touches on topics such as maintaining a fresh bunk face, designing storage systems and engaging a nutritionist. It closes with tracking forage quality and building rations.

As the course winds down, participants will gain a better understanding of tracking and performance, including what records to keep, why producers should keep them and how to inventory quantity and quality in storage.

The initial plan, the tracking and the records help producers better understand the cost of production for an operation. Producers walk away from training with a template to develop the cost of production for their own operation, looking at the cost of harvest and storage losses and the overall cost of forage production.

The course closes with discussion on sustainable management, greenhouse gas impacts and management strategies to help producers with soil carbon sequestering and determining manure storage and application methods for their operations.

Producers will complete training with a plan on how they can improve the quality of forage they produce.

“The course presents information using a combination of written and video materials and provides resources and action items so producers can take the techniques and strategies outlined in the material and apply them to their farm,” said Healy.

Why now?

The CFGA has been working with Undersander and other experts for several years to create this training series based on the demand from producers and extension specialists to improve the quality of forage produced in Canada. It has been long recognized that forages are essential to maintaining the health of cropping systems in addition to being an important crop on its own.

Growers face a number of challenges regionally, including disease, pests, drought, excessive moisture and varying rates of soil fertility.

A pilot, three-day workshop offered this past March in Manitoba underlined the desire for knowledge and the need to build new supports and connections for growers.

“With experts planning retirement or moving into other roles, the CFGA recognized the opportunity to capture this knowledge now and assist with transferring it to the next generation of producers, agronomists and technicians who are looking to improve Canadian forage,” Healy said.

“This free online course will be available through the CFGA’s learning management system in both English and French early in 2026.”

The new High-Performance Forage course joins other online educational opportunities provided by the CFGA, including Advanced Grazing Systems with sub-courses on dairy and brown soil zones.

– Susanne Wagner is the OFCAF/AGS course developer for the Canadian Forage & Grassland Association.

The post New high performance forage training program to launch in 2026 appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Nearly all major crops have finished combining, with 37 per cent of Manitoba’s sunflowers finished, plus 71 per cent of grain corn and small amounts of soybeans and potatoes left to do.

Manitoba Ag also reported most of the fall fertilizer applications have wrapped up. As well, the planting of winter wheat and fall rye benefitted from warm fall temperatures and sufficient soil moisture levels, giving a good start to the 2026 crop.

Yields above average

The report placed this year’s winter wheat yields at 50 to 90 bushels per acre and fall rye at 60 to 110 bu./ac. with some instances of fields hitting 135.

Yields for the spring cereals ranged from 50 to 90 bu./ac. for wheat, with good quality and protein levels of 13.5 to 14.5 per cent. Although some later planted spring cereals did not fare as well due to wet conditions. Oats reaped 80 to 120 bu./ac. with barley at 80 to 110.

Corn yields varied, depending on the amount of rain received. Areas with limited rainfall saw 90 to 120 bu./ac. while those areas with timely rain had 130 to 150.

Among the oilseeds, canola yields were 30 to 60 bu./ac., flax at 15 to 35 and soybeans at 30 to 50. Sunflower yields are above normal across most of the province, but below normal in the Interlake.

The pea harvest registered at 30 to 70 bu./ac.

As for forages, the late season precipitation helped to extend pasture grazing. While hay yields were average, forage quality varied due to wet conditions. That was also the case with corn silage yields but greenfeed and cereal sileage were near average.

The post Most of Manitoba harvest wraps up for 2025 appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

According to Blue, Alberta has enough forage and feed grain to meet livestock needs heading into the upcoming winter season.

“The Peace River area and eastern side of Alberta generally had below average hay yields due to lack of rain and spotty showers,” said Blue, who is based in Edmonton and farms near Vermilion.

Hay yields from central and southern Alberta were mostly average to above average, he said.

“The hay was generally baled in good condition with little to no rain while it was curing in the field,” he said.

Marketing sites in Edmonton and Calgary areas show lots of hay for sale, but there is less hay advertised for sale in northeastern Alberta and generally down the east side to Medicine Hat, he said.

“It’s tighter than maybe we would like, but it will be fine. Farmers are resilient so they’ll find a way. They’re making other arrangements in some cases,” said Blue.

He has been following hay sales on websites like Facebook and Kijiji.

“Asking prices for large round bales seem to be in the range of 10 to 12 cents a pound picked up. And of course, for any trucking distance required, trucking would add or could add significantly to that price,” he said.

Some hay is available outside that price range, but 10 to 12 cents a pound seems to be average.

“That’s not that much higher or different than last year, when we had higher volumes of hay produced,” he said.

The years of drought have made feed supplies patchy across the province.

“In the Vermilion area, some yields are average or better and some are just not good at all. In that central upper area, things are pretty good, generally, but variable,” he said.

“On the other hand, there were enough showers in most areas to have provided a reasonably okay, not always average, sometimes below average cereal crop. In some of those areas, there is quite a bit of straw being baled. In the case where there aren’t adequate feed supplies, some producers will use straw and combine it with feed greens, like oats or barley, along with some pellets to try to get by,” he said.

The eastern side of the province, the northeast and the Peace Country will have some deficits, but there aren’t as many cattle in that region that will be affected by short supplies.

The Peace Country has the lowest supply of feed, and people in the area may decide to buy hay from other areas.

“Even up there, in some areas west of Grande Prairie, for example, and north, there are some showers that came through and some of the crops weren’t too bad. And yet, just a mile or two away, or a few miles away, the crops weren’t good. And the same applies to the forage situation and to pasture for that matter.”

Farmers in areas with low feed will buy feed from surplus feed areas. “Some might ship a portion of their cattle away from the area to be custom fed in areas that have more hay. It might be cheaper to ship the cattle and have them custom fed then bring the hay in. Some might even sell part of their herd to reduce winter feeding costs,” he said.

Blue said there was a reduction of the herd during the summer based on the dryness, which reflected poor pasture conditions.

“I guess the one good thing about that alternative is that cattle prices are record high, and so at least the prices were high when they were selling or reducing their herd,” he said.

Alberta’s cattle herd is smaller, which means less need for feed.

“On the hay side, like perennial forage, there’s been a reduction in hay acreage over time too, in favour of annual crops which have had better economic conditions for the last number of years. I guess, despite me promoting the idea of seeding more acres to hay, just from a rotational benefit point of view, it generally hasn’t happened yet,” said Blue.

More acres could be seeded to hay if the current mediocre or lower annual crop prices remain, he said.

Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation has a product that it put out in the spring called Cropping Alternatives, which can be found online. Blue said the website showed that forage may have been one of the better promises of net income compared with the annual crops.

Crop prices are generally weaker at harvest time, but since the spring, prices have dropped on a lot of annual crops.

“There may be a bit of a rebound in forage acres or interest in it. I’ve even promoted that idea for those that do not have cattle, that they could maybe arrange in advance with someone who does have cattle, or who does custom cutting and baling of hay,” he said.

The feed situation going into the winter is decent.

“Farmers will find a way and the bright spot is for those who decide they don’t want to ship their cattle out, or pay the cost of getting hay brought in, they could reduce the herd a bit or ship some of their herd to be fed elsewhere. Cattle prices remain very high,” he said.

High cattle prices mean farmers will have the ability to pay for hay and likely have a profit, barring some kind of problem with livestock prices, he said.

The other option is to sell some livestock to reduce the herd to manage available supply.

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“The outlook is positive for both the livestock and feed industries,” wrote FCC senior economist Leigh Anderson in the Oct. 8 report.

There was regional variability, but Canadian forage production overall was expected to have declined on the year while the grain crop was larger, said the FCC report.

“Most cattle producers are adjusting to lower forage production by making use of feed alternatives,” said the report, adding that “an abundance of feed grain supplies and improving profitability in the livestock sector are expected to support strong feed demand and sales.

A forecast for a record-large corn crop in the United States was expected to keep feed prices low in Canada, keeping a lid on increases in hay prices.

Canadian commercial feed sales projected to increase

Canada’s livestock sector has faced years of tight feed supplies and high costs, with expensive feed grains hurting the profits for both producers and feed mills. In 2022, commercial feed sales hit a record C$11.7 billion due to rising grain and oilseed prices, said the FCC. Sales dipped in 2024 and are expected to reach $11.2 billion this year, with a projected rise to $11.9 billion by 2026.

However, the numbers depend heavily on feed grain prices and could be revised down if prices fall. Most of the feed sales growth is expected in Western Canada, driven by poultry expansion, while dairy and hog sectors are expected to stay stable or grow slowly. Commercial feed sales in the cattle sector will depend not only on overall feed demand, but also on the need for additives and supplements to improve the quality of lower-grade feed available on cow-calf and feedlot operations, said the FCC.

Expanding poultry sector is an area of growing feed demand

Broiler production is expected to rise sharply in the second half of the year, with recent quota allocations averaging over seven per cent above base, said the FCC report. However, bird flu remains a major risk. Egg layer production has also seen steady growth since last year, as Western Canada recovers from the impact of bird flu a year ago. As a result, the expanding poultry sector remains a growing area of opportunity for the feed sector, said the FCC.

Stable feed demand for dairy and hog sectors

Despite the dairy herd size remaining unchanged, milk production has increased, driven by strong demand for dairy products, said the FCC report. Marketing boards have responded by issuing additional quota and incentive days to boost supply, which has contributed to improved dairy profitability. Dairy feed demand is expected to remain stable. Meanwhile, Canada’s hog sector is showing signs of recovery after several challenging years. The national hog inventory dipped slightly to 13.8 million head as of July 1, but improvements in hog prices and lower feed costs could lead to modest herd growth next year. Continued gains in productivity with more piglets born per sow could also support herd growth in the coming year. As a result, feed demand from the hog sector could rise if herd sizes increase, said the FCC.

Strong cattle price and abundant feed supply supportive of herd rebuilding

Canada’s national beef herd increased for the first time since 2021 in the latest data as of July 1. A continuation of strong cattle prices and easing feed costs could encourage more herd rebuilding, said the FCC report.

In August, feedlot placements were 12.2 per cent lower than last year, and this trend will be important to monitor as the fall calf run ends. If feedlot placements continue to trend lower, it could point to increased heifer retention. While that may mean less feed demand at feedlots in the short term, it suggests more on-farm feeding now and potentially higher feed demand in the years ahead, said the FCC.

Feedlot margins remain tight, but cheaper feed grains are helping. With plenty of feed grains available and record cattle prices, feedlots have an incentive to continue feeding cattle to heavier weights to improve profitability, which could lead to improved feed grain demand, said the report.

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