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
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
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
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
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
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
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