Drying time can be reduced

Drying time can be reduced

With wet weather wreaking havoc in many parts of the province, 
some producers are cutting their forage when the weather lets them, not when it’s optimal quality

Farmers use a variety of methods to determine when alfalfa is ready for the first cut of the year, but this season a lot of those methods went straight out the window. “So how many of you are just cutting when it’s dry enough to get on the field?” Dan Undersander, an extension and forage

Green Gold (Central): Time to assess frost damage

Here is the first release for the scissor clipping project for 2013. This year we will be reporting from various areas of the province (eastern, central, Interlake, western). For the central report, the fields that are being sampled are in the south-central and Arborg areas. Site RFV PEAQ RFV NIR Height CP Arborg 268 212


Other Manitoba crop insurance changes for 2013 and 2014

Expanding crop insurance coverage is just one of the changes for crop insurance in 2013 and 2014. Here are some others. Dollar selections per acre have increased to the following: All crops (excluding potatoes, vegetables and strawberries) $120, $160 and $200. For potatoes, the levels are $250, $500 and $750 and for vegetables and strawberries,



Looks good, smells good, isn’t good

An Alberta Agriculture beef specialist says that ideal growing conditions in many areas should mean above-average first-cut hay yields, but nutrient content is another matter. “With higher yields, the nutrients available from the soil are distributed in the plant material, and nutrients are diluted down and are not as concentrated as in other years,” Barry

New Research On Inoculants

Anew research paper on silage inoculants has been posted on foragebeef.ca, a website with information on producing forage and beef in Western Canada.Comparison of the Fermentation Characteristics, Aerobic Stability and Nutritive Value of Barley and Corn Silages Ensiled With or Without a Mixed Bacterial Inoculantwas published by Drs. W. Addah, J. Baah, P. Groenewegen, E.K.


New Forage Group Hopes To Raise Industry Profile

Like Rodney Dangerfield, Canada’s forage producers sometimes feel they get no respect. Despite having the biggest farming sector in the country, forage producers say others in the agri-food industry either take them for granted or largely ignore them. “We have the largest agricultural acreage but no voice,” lamented Ed Shaw, chair of the Canadian Forage

One-Man Silage Rig Helps Beat The Deluge

What do you do when it’s the end of June and the first cut is ready, but there’s rain in the forecast? The answer, generally, is silage. The problem is a silaging operation typically requires at least three people operating three machines – unless you have a self-loading silage wagon. Don Green, who runs a


Producers Urged To Test Nutritional Quality Of Forage

Feed testing will be especially important this year as the quality of weather-damaged or mature forage may not be adequate to meet the nutritional requirements of livestock. “With the amount of hay that has been cut late and is over-mature, or has been cut at the right time, turned twice, sat in the swath or

Hemp For Livestock – for Aug. 5, 2010

How does hemp fit in with grazing and livestock? Surprisingly, the plant with 50,000 uses can work for a few more, according to MAFRI diversification specialist Keith Watson. Hemp meal, the leftover mush from squeezing the grain for oil, can be fed to cattle. High in essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, it is also