Reading Time: 3 minutes Although feedlot pen riders do a good job of identifying lame cattle needing treatment, there has been very little work done to fully understand lameness in that sector. Knowing the types and prevalence of lameness could help to build better ways to treat and prevent it, says Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researcher Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein. “We […] Read more
Study examines lameness in feedlot cattle and treatment options
Diagnosing the cause of lameness is not easy and so it’s difficult to know how to treat the animal or if culling is the best option
Peace farmers funding research by doing what they do best — farming
Farmers in Alberta’s northwest corner are using sweat equity to fund research that matters to them
Reading Time: 2 minutes At a time when competition for government funding is stiff and every dollar counts, researchers are finding novel ways to finance the work they do. One of the most innovative is the Mackenzie Applied Research Association (MARA). Until last year, the association conducted research in Alberta’s northwest corner with a small staff and limited budget. […] 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
Energy-dense forage for the future
Energy-dense forage could present a viable alternative to feedlots in some instances
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s time for producers to take an annual look at a perennial issue. “What we need to do is get away from our conventional thinking,” Clayton Robins said during a seminar. Annual forage mixes can play a key role in both beef, dairy and sheep production, said the beef producer and former Agriculture Canada research […] 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
Guenther: Wanted for science: Southern Alberta canola fields
Reward: Better industry-wide strategies for managing blackleg
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dr. Dilantha Fernando, a University of Manitoba researcher, is leading a group of researchers who intend to pinpoint avirulence genes in blackleg found in farmers’ fields. Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures are also involved. Researchers will also study how the fungus adapts to different canola cultivars and how […] 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
Does the time of day matter when applying herbicides
Burn-down trials suggest applying herbicides at dawn may be less effective
Reading Time: 2 minutes Have you ever evaluated your weed control and come across confusing differences between fields? Perhaps they were even sprayed on the same day with the same chemical? The good news is you might not be crazy. Well, at least not more than normal. We just rated our burn-down trials for a third year where we […] Read more
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