Recently, a dairy company out of Wisconsin rolled out its latest marketing campaign, claiming “Organic grass-fed milk is more nutritious. It’s science.” Well, there is good scientific evidence that the composition of milk from cows fed dry hay or fresh forage is higher in omega-3 fatty acids versus cows fed ensiled feed. But, does the… Read more »
Category: Forage
Controlling leafy spurge one flock at a time
While most pastures across Saskatchewan were blanketed with snow this past winter, the landscape will change quickly as warm weather arrives. Native prairie plants such as northern wheatgrass and needle-and-thread will soon spring to life, however their undesirable counterparts, such as leafy spurge, will too. Leafy spurge is a perennial invasive weed many farmers and… Read more »
There’s gold in them fields: Finding more margin in forage
Thin margins may have some farmers looking to cut costs, but for croppers and livestock producers alike, there’s an often overlooked option for making money: forage. Whether through higher dairy and beef production efficiency, or through cash sales, recent research out of Michigan State suggests that more farmers should be taking a harder look at forage… Read more »
Competing on more than price for rented land
Ontario’s soils are losing organic matter. What builds organic matter? Perennial and forage species! But if you’re going to plant perennial hay or pasture, you have to have something to feed it to or you won’t be farming long enough to see the value of the added organic matter. And that’s a slight problem, as… Read more »
A&W donates $5M to the U of S Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence
The University of Saskatchewan announced a $5-million donation on Friday from A&W to support the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE). “A&W is deeply committed to the Canadian beef and forage industry,” said Jefferson Mooney, chairman emeritus, A&W. “Our investment is an investment in the future of Canadian food and best practices to make… Read more »
Livestock centre of excellence receives $4.5 million from federal gov’t
The federal government has announced another $4.47 million in funding for the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence being built near Saskatoon. David Lametti, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced the funding on Friday at the University of Saskatchewan. Originally announced in 2015, the centre will have its physical… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, May 10: Quality forage timing, cold temp fallout, and two-pass fungicide strategy
This week’s (almost!) cross-Canada Wheat Pete’s Word is packed full of great questions, worries about cold temperatures, solid timely answers on field management, and at least one alert, alert, alert! Your host Peter Johnson tackles questions on harvesting cereal rye (soon! this week!) while keeping compaction in mind, if corn seed is going to be… Read more »
The Cost of Mycotoxin in Feed, Plus Feeding Strategies to Ease Heat Stress
Summer may feel a long way off, but being prepared to manage heat stress in dairy cattle goes a long way in warding off the production losses that go along with it. We’re also well into the 2016 feed crop, and there are reports of several farmers struggling to keep mycotoxin (specifically DON/vomitoxin) levels low enough… Read more »
OSCIA Revives Forage Masters Competition
The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) recently announced a return of the Forage Masters Competition. New and improved, revamping of the competition was lead by Don Oliver, OSCIA director for the east central region. A team effort involving input from not just OSCIA directors, members, staff, but also from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and… Read more »
How Many Tonnes of Protein Can You Raise Per Acre?
If you’ve got cows, you likely do something like this: number of cows x days on feed = tonnes of hay/forage needed. But what if you’ve got land, but no livestock, and want to include perennial forage in rotation? Have you ever sat down and done this: number of acres x tonnes of feed produced… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Dec 28: Starter Fert on Corn, the N/Protein Dance, & All About Clover
On the eve of 2017, we wrap up the calendar year with one last instalment of Wheat Pete’s Word. From a recent land price record, to so many questions on fertilizer timing, placement, and products, and finally on to a great deep dive into single and double cut clover, Johnson tackles alfalfa discussions, the true… Read more »
Watch Closely for Funding Application Announcements: OSCIA
There’s funding out there, Ontairo farmers — but you’ve got to pay attention in order to get in, says Margaret May, regional program lead with the Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). I caught up with May at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (as is our tradition, it seems) to quickly recap four funding programs… Read more »
‘Intelligent’ Baler Delivers Uniformity and Reduces Operator Fatigue
New Holland’s new IntelliBale system is designed to increase productivity by automating round baling functions to reduce operator fatigue and produce more uniform bales. New Holland unveiled the technology at the recent Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. In this video, hay and forage marketing manager Seth Doman explains that New Holland’s IntelliBale uses ISOBUS 3 technology… Read more »
Extending the Grazing Season — Options for Adding Days on Grass
Having enough forage on hand for the fall grazing or winter feeding season is sort of like the best time to plant a tree — it should have been planned for a long time ago. But even the best of intentions got waylaid this year throughout much of Ontario because it Just. Didn’t. Rain. Many… Read more »
Beef School: Ep.1 — Supercharge Forage With Silage Inoculants
Do you inoculate your silage? If not, you could be losing out on added digestibility or leaving the bunk or silo open to added spoilage. In this very first episode of the Beef School, we meet with Dr. Tim McAllister, principal research scientist, ruminant nutrition & microbiology, with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, to learn more… Read more »