pastures Archives | Alberta Farmer Express

Pasture management is a mix of art and science, but having “some hard numbers on what your pastures are capable of” is a big help, says Tara Mulhern Davidson.

Carrying capacity: You gotta know if it can hold ’em

Overgrazing can really hurt productivity, so it pays to know how many cows you can put on a pasture

By Jill Burkhardt May 28, 2020

Struggling with finding the right amount of cattle to graze on a pasture or not sure how many cattle a new rented pasture will hold? The Beef Cattle Research Council now has a calculator to help you with that. There are four basic principles of range management: Balancing forage supply and demand; managing for uniform […] Read more

Forages, News

Annual forages offer benefits, says forage specialist

Annual pastures allow you to properly rest their perennial cousins and can be used for silage or greenfeed

By Alberta Agriculture and Forestry April 1, 2020

Annual forages offer a couple of advantages for producers, says a provincial forage and beef specialist. “By seeding annual pastures, producers can give stressed perennial pastures a rest,” said Karin Lindquist. “If those pastures are rested early in the spring and following rain, they can produce good amounts of growth later in the summer. However, […] Read more

Don’t wait for patches to appear in hayfields or pastures, say experts. Instead, start doing plant counts and check the root system as
soon as they begin to green up.

Crops, News

Many pastures took a beating this winter, so scout early

Conduct plant counts as soon as pastures and hayfields start to green up, say forage experts

By Jennifer Blair April 1, 2020

Cold, wet conditions through the fall and winter were the right recipe for winterkill in alfalfa pastures across the Prairies. “With climate change, the risk of forage stands being injured or killed by environmental stresses is predicted to increase,” said Bill Thomas, owner of BT Agronomy in Truro, Nova Scotia. “Just in the last month, […] Read more

Crops, Hay, Pasture

Hay shortage in Manitoba Interlake reaches tipping point

By Marlo Glass – MarketsFarm September 5, 2019

MarketsFarm — A state of agricultural emergency has been declared in 12 municipalities, mostly in Manitoba’s Interlake region, due to chronically low hay yields. Drought and grasshoppers have hindered crops to the point that hay production is about 25 to 30 per cent of average. “We’ve moved cows out of pastures because the grasshoppers ate […] Read more

Crops, Pasture, Weather

Prairie drought reaches tipping point

By Marlo Glass – MarketsFarm June 19, 2019

MarketsFarm — The Prairie provinces have been under the influence of a large ridge of high pressure for a number of weeks, which has produced prolonged dryness with little precipitation. That high pressure system has pushed low-pressure, precipitation-carrying systems to the south, where the U.S. Midwest has already received significant rain. Environment Canada estimated the […] Read more

Crops, Forages, Weather

Forage supplies starting to dip on dry Prairies

By Ashley Robinson - MarketsFarm May 16, 2018

CNS Canada — Forage supplies are starting to dwindle across Western Canada following a long, cold, winter and rain is needed soon to make for a good forage crop this year. “People tended to kind of blend hay this year and they managed to get through. But the prolonged cold spring really I think put […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. cattle placements hit 16-year high for February

By Theopolis Waters March 23, 2018

Chicago | Reuters — Ranchers drove 7.3 per cent more cattle into U.S. feedlots in February than a year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Friday, the most for the month in 16 years. Persistent drought in the U.S. Plains withered winter wheat grazing pastures, which forced beef cattle into feedyards in states […] Read more

Crops, Hay, Weather

Hay shortage could make for difficult winter

By Terry Fries October 3, 2017

CNS Canada — Many cattle producers looking for local feed this winter might have a difficult time, according to a Saskatchewan provincial forage specialist. However, producers further north in the grey and black soil zones, and those in Alberta producing high-quality feed for export, saw near-record hay production. Terry Kowalchuk of Saskatchewan Agriculture in Regina […] Read more

Forages, Livestock, Weather

Options weighed for AgriRecovery in B.C. fire zones

By Alberta Farmer Staff August 16, 2017

Officials in British Columbia are now gauging what sorts of damages and expenses can be covered through an AgriRecovery plan for ranchers and farmers affected by wildfires. The federal and B.C. governments announced Wednesday they’re “working together to quickly assess the extraordinary costs farmers are incurring and what additional assistance may be required to recover […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Pasture, Reuters, Spring Wheat, Weather

U.S. Plains drought highlights spring wheat supply crunch

By Mark Weinraub June 29, 2017

Chicago | Reuters — Drought conditions in the northern U.S. Plains that have propelled spring wheat prices to a three-year high worsened in the past week and there are forecasts for more hot and dry weather that could crimp the harvest. As the world struggles with a glut of grain that has filled inventories to […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Canola stronger after Canada Day

Ontario investigating 17 temp agencies after virus outbreaks on farms

U.S. grains: Corn pauses after fund buying spree, watches weather

GFM Network News