Reading Time: 2 minutes Swath grazing cereals could save producers almost half the cost of overwintering cattle, says a federal forage researcher. “Extended grazing practices like swath grazing, bale grazing, and grazing second-cut grasses in the fall are one of the most effective ways to reduce your overwintering costs of beef cows,” Vern Baron said at the Lacombe Field […] Read more
Swath grazing cereals saves half of overwintering costs in beef cattle
With new higher-yielding, higher-quality forage cereals in the works, there has never been a better time for beef cattle producers to try swath grazing cereals
Don’t be fooled by imitations, Mountainview sainfoin not for sale yet
Forage producers are eager to get their hands on AC Mountainview, but it won’t be for sale until 2016
Reading Time: 2 minutes A new variety of sainfoin holds great promise in Alberta forage systems, says a provincial beef and forage specialist. “The development and release of the new AC Mountainview sainfoin has caused a bit of a stir in the forage world,” said Linda Hunt, who works in the Stettler branch of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. […] Read more
Putting a price on hay a challenge in summer
A host of factors makes it a challenge to price hay in summer, but there are ways to value your standing hay crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes July is the most difficult time for figuring out the price of hay, and this year is no exception, says provincial farm business management specialist Ted Nibourg. “Two long hard winters back to back reduced much of the hay carry-over in the province,” says Nibourg. “There were numerous reports of strong hay prices earlier this […] Read more
Canada needs to invest to keep forage sector vigorous
Reading Time: 3 minutes Irricana rancher Doug Wray is the president of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association. In mid-May, he spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. He began by noting Canada’s 13 million cultivated hectares of forages (the country’s largest cultivated crop) and 15 million hectares of native pastures and rangeland generate […] Read more
Sainfoin story keeps getting better
Sainfoin is a marvel when it comes to eliminating bloat, but earlier varieties were outcompeted by alfalfa
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s been neglected for years, but sainfoin is poised to come into its own, with the first new variety that regrows quickly after cutting or grazing due to come onto the market in 2015. In rotational grazing trials at Lethbridge last year, sainfoin-alfalfa pastures produced more than 400 kilograms of beef per hectare with no […] Read more
Survival of the fittest key to developing new variety
Reading Time: < 1 minute Plant breeders usually look at huge numbers of plants when searching for particular traits. 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 […] Read more
It takes more than sunshine to make high-quality and high-yielding hay
Cutting at the right time, giving stands a chance to recover, and investing in nutrients can make a big difference to the bottom line
Reading Time: 3 minutes Producers are becoming increasingly aware of how hay quality and productivity affect their bottom lines — whether they’re selling hay or feeding it to their livestock. 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 […] Read more
Manufacturers say new haying equipment will boost productivity
Updated models introduced last summer should make putting up quality hay a little easier and more efficient this year
Reading Time: 3 minutes Last summer, marketing reps from all the major farm equipment brands invited members of the farm media to events in the U.S. to see — and in some cases try — newly introduced equipment, including hay tools and tractors. Much of the focus of last year’s new machine introductions were designed to appeal to livestock […] Read more
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