 Forage and Livestock eNews
Updates and information from across
the industry
February
19, 2010 - Vol 2, Issue
4 | |
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| Dear Leanne |
 If you have been watching or keeping up with
the Olympics at all in the last few days, you have
heard plenty of talk surrounding the hockey match
ups. Canada vs. Switzerland seemed like a
sure thing for the skilled Canadian team. However,
not only did the game go to a shootout, it looked like
we might not make it through their exceptional
goaltender! Maybe our Canadian boys need to get
back to basics and focus on the task at hand - namely
winning the gold medal on home ice. "Back to
the Basics" is the topic of some upcoming forage
workshops that you will find details on in this issue of
the Forage and Livestock eNews. Also
in this issue, you will find an update on the
Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission and the
preliminary results on a stockpiled grazing site at the
Western Beef Development Centre.
As always, feel free to share this publication with
anyone you think may be interested, or encourage them to
join our mailing list.
Please contact us if you have comments or questions
about our e-newsletter. Also, let us know if
you have ideas for upcoming issues. We
welcome your
input! | | |
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| Saskatchewan Ministry of
Agriculture Forage Workshops
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The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture invites you to
attend a one day workshop focused on the basics of forage
management and production. "Forages on your Farm -
Back to the Basics" will cover topics ranging from insuring
your forage stands to selecting the right species for your
farm.
These workshops are planned for March
2-4, 2010 in the following locations:
March 2, 2010 - Lodge Room, Delisle Town
Hall, Delisle
March 3, 2010 - Civic Centre Basement,
Elbow
March 4, 2010 - Recreation Centre
Lounge, Aberdeen
Workshops will begin at 9:30AM and wrap up at
3:30PM. Registration cost is $15
which includes a lunch.
Participants are asked to pre-register by
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 by contacting
the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.
More information is available on these workshops by
contacting:
Charlotte Ward - Forage Specialist
Outlook Regional Office
(306) 867-5559
Top of Page |
| Saskatchewan Forage Seed
Development Commission Update
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Submitted by: Nancy Gray, Executive Director,
Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission
(SFSDC)
The Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development
Commission (SFSDC) annual meeting and producer information day
will be held on Friday, February 26, 2010 in
Nipawin. This event will take
place in the Jack Pine Room at the Evergreen Centre
starting at 1:30 pm.
We have three speakers lined up for the
afternoon including Dr. Malhi from the Melfort Research
Station who will be discussing the topic of fertilizing
forages, Dale Wotherspoon from Saskatchewan Crop Insurance
Corporation discussing insuring forage seed production, and a
representative from Ag-Vision Seeds presenting market outlooks
for forage seed crops.
The SFSDC was established through
assistance from the Saskatchewan Forage Council in 2005 and
the forage seed industry (with the exception of alfalfa which
has had an established a levy since 1997). The
current SFSDC levy is ¾ of 1% of sale value ($0.75 per $100)
and is set up as a refundable check-off.
 The
purpose and intent of the SFSDC is to assist the development
of the forage seed industry in Saskatchewan, by the following
means:
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to promote and develop the forage seed
industry in Saskatchewan;
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to develop procedures to maximize returns to
producers of forage seed;
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to encourage sustainable production of a
uniform high-quality product;
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to gather, compile and distribute
information related to the production, consumption and
marketing of forage seed;
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to conduct and encourage research on the
production, processing and consumption of the forage seed;
and
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to establish a levy on all forage seed for
the purpose of carrying out the objectives of the
plan.
The SFSDC has seen the levy
dollars decreasing in the last couple of years due to
producers taking forage seed acres out of production in favour
of annual crops. With steady prices for many grains and
oilseeds and lowers prices for forages projected in the
upcoming year, we will probably see this declining
forage acreage trend again in 2010.
Producer investment is essential in
today's research environment. While provincial and
federal spending on agriculture has been reduced, funds for
research are generally available, but have to be matched with
producer money. The SFSDC levy fills this
important role and aids in the continuation of
research directed at the forage seed sector.
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To Swath or not to Swath? Preliminary Results from
Stockpiled Grazing Project
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A question that producers often have about stockpiled
perennial forage relates to swathing of forage for
fall or winter grazing. Does the extra cost of the
swathing pay off in retained forage quality or in better
animal utilization?
To answer this question, three stockpiled perennial
forage sites were established in Saskatchewan as part of the
Agricultural Demonstration of Practices and Technologies
(ADOPT) program. The objective of these sites was to
evaluation the difference between standing or swathed
stockpiled forage on forage quality and animal grazing
days.
 One
site was established at the Western Beef Development centre
where the standing and swathed stockpiled perennial forage was
compared to traditional confinement feeding of
baled forage. For this demonstration,a perennial
stand of smooth brome/alfalfa was chosen. The stand was
split into three paddocks, one left standing (16
acres), one swathed (18 acres) and one baled (14
acres). There were 24 bales produced from the 14
acres that were baled. Swathing for the swathed
stockpiled treatment took place on August 26,
2009.
Grazing took place between October 20 and
November 16, 2009, with the swathed treatment ending
early on November 9, 2009. All three forage types were
tested for quality.
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Stockpiled
Swath |
Stockpiled
Standing |
Baled |
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CP % |
12.6 |
9.8 |
9.8 |
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TDN % |
57.8 |
57.0 |
56.5 |
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NDF % |
59.4 |
57.2 |
56.5 |
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Ca % |
0.87 |
0.81 |
1.27 |
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P % |
0.17 |
0.14 |
0.16 |
Quality of the two stockpiled treatments was similar,
with the exception of higher protein (CP) in the swathed
treatment. Energy (TDN), fiber (NDF) calcium and
phosphorus were all comparable in the standing and
swathed treatments.
In terms of animal grazing days, the baled forage
provided the greatest number of cow days and the standing
paddock outperformed the swathed paddock. The standing
paddock recorded 32 cow days per acre, whereas the swathed
paddock recorded only 18 cow days per acre. The
economics of these three treatments has yet to be applied, but
it is predicted that the standing treatment will be the most
economical feeding option. These numbers should be
available later this spring.
It appears from this demonstration that swathing
stockpiled perennial forage may not have an advantage
over grazing stockpiled perennial forage standing.
For more information on this demonstration and the
results, please contact Dr. Bart Lardner.
Western Beef Development Centre
Phone (306)
682-3139
Funding
for this ADOPT project is provided under the
Canada-Saskatchewan Growing Forward agreement..
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Leanne Thompson - Editor
Forage and
Livestock eNews
Forage and Livestock eNews is
published by the Saskatchewan Forage Council (SFC).
Opinions
and information are provided by the authors and
publication does not imply endorsement by the
SFC. |
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The
Saskatchewan Forage Council recognizes the support of
our Annual Sponsors:
 
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Financial support for this project has
been provided by:
the Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan through the
Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food
Saskatchewan (ACAAFS) program. Funding for the
ACAAFS program is provided by Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada
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