Reading Time: 2 minutes Highly productive pastures are the biggest key to high profitability of most beef, and other grazing ruminant operations. The Alberta Tame Pasture Scorecard is a quick and easy way of doing a pasture assessment. “Determining if pastures are functioning at the desired potential can be determined quite easily,” said Grant Lastiwka, a provincial forage and […] Read more
Scorecard lets you put your pastures to the test
The scorecard is a simple way to see if a pasture needs to be rejuvenated
Big bales are bottom of the barrel for the horse industry
Alberta’s horse industry buys more forage than any other livestock sector, but it has exacting criteria
Reading Time: 2 minutes Forage producers could tap into a huge domestic market for their hay — if they drop their bale sizes. “The horse industry purchases more forage than any other sector in agriculture,” said Les Burwash, manager of horse programs for Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “I’m not saying we use more — we buy more. Of […] Read more
Prairie forage crops to benefit from early spring weather
CNS Canada — Forage crops in Western Canada are in a much better place this spring compared to a year ago, as spring’s early arrival will benefit crop development. The milder winter was also beneficial in preserving forage supplies, with feed stocks adequate to good in many regions, said Terry Kowalchuk, a provincial forage specialist […] Read more
Poor hay causing concern
Reading Time: < 1 minute Up to one-half of Alberta hay supplies may be of lower quality, says a provincial beef and forage specialist. “Protein levels in a lot of hay that was cut late or damaged by rain over the summer, is testing 25 to 30 per cent lower than normal,” said Barry Yaremcio, noting that skinny cows have […] Read more
Expert says plan your pastures and save yourself some headaches
Heavy seeding and a weed control strategy geared to specific pasture conditions are key for grazing consultant and rancher Graeme Finn
Reading Time: 2 minutes You can’t just let your cows loose on a piece of grass without proper planning and knowledge. “When I take over land, I assess it and see where we need to go,” grazing consultant Graeme Finn said at the recent Western Canada Grazing Conference. “If we have weed issues, then we control them with chemicals […] Read more
Pasture the focus at conference
"Going Beyond Sustainability” will be held at the Radisson Hotel from Dec. 9-11
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Western Canadian Grazing Conference “Going Beyond Sustainability” will be held Dec. 9-11 at the Radisson Hotel, Edmonton South. This event is designed as a forum to discuss leading-edge grazing and forage techniques and theories for producers across Western Canada. Keynote speakers include Judith Schwartz who will speak on “Cows Save the Planet,” and Diane […] Read more
Long-term investment — not quick-fix funding — needed for forage research
Not only is public funding scarce and the payback too low to tempt the private sector, there’s not many forage researchers left
Reading Time: 3 minutes With many veteran researchers reaching retirement age and research budgets being slashed, regaining lost capacity for long-term forage research will be an uphill battle, said the chair of a national forage association. “To have somebody commit to long-term funding when most of the funding is based on a two- or three-year window is a real […] Read more
Experts decry lack of long-term forage research
Research projects tend to be commodity specific and short term
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you want to know what happens when research doesn’t get done, ask Doug Wray. “Where the hay yields haven’t increased in the last 10 years, the canola, wheat, and barley yields have,” says the cow-calf producer from Irricana. “It’s created a real challenge to keep forages on the landscape in that dynamic where the […] Read more
Cheap grain could shore up any Man. forage shortages
CNS Canada — Excessive moisture in some parts of Manitoba over the past few months has led to localized forage shortages heading into the winter. However, ample feed grain supplies are expected to help supplement any lack of forages. Manitoba’s Interlake region was particularly hard hit by moisture in 2014. Water levels on both Lake […] Read more
It’s Canada’s biggest crop – but forage research remains a hard sell
There has been a dramatic drop in forage research, but it’s not just because producers could make more money growing canola
Reading Time: 4 minutes More than 52 million acres in Alberta are currently used to graze livestock or produce crops like alfalfa and timothy hay, but farmers who manage grasslands and forage fields say their industry is declining so rapidly its future is at risk. “The long-term graph of forage research shows a dramatic drop — probably 70 per […] Read more
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