Reading Time: 4 minutes Fast and hard? Slow and easy? And how many animals per acre? Stocking and defoliation rates are a complex and even controversial issue, and depend a lot on the weather. Climate change could make them even more complex. To get a better idea on how producers should respond, Edward Bork and a team from the […] Read more
Stocking rates key to climate change adjustment
Low defoliation rates and leaving lots of litter are best for coping with weather variations from year to year
Making hay of environmental goods and services
Researchers wrestle with turning an abstract concept into concrete profits for producers
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you were to ask most cattle producers about the goods and services their grasslands provide, it might seem like an obvious question. Most would say that quality forage promotes the health of their cattle, provides high-quality protein and boosts their bottom line. Others might talk about how their grazing practices promote biodiversity and overall […] Read more
Forage breeding faces funding challenges
Government has cut back, private companies are not keen on crops that don’t need to be reseeded every year, and you can’t check off sales to farmers’ own livestock
Reading Time: 3 minutes Forages are Canada’s biggest crop but you wouldn’t know it because of the few resources that go into breeding them. You’d think that, given its size, forage would be a giant in the world of plant breeding. Unfortunately, it’s more of a midget. Canada has only four major publicly funded programs for breeding tame forages, […] Read more
Sask. rancher charged as missing equipment found
Reading Time: < 1 minute A western Saskatchewan cattle rancher faces charges of theft and possession of stolen goods after the discovery of missing tractors, balers, trucks and other equipment Thursday. Iain Stables, 38, is due in Provincial Court in Saskatoon on April 14 to answer to 29 criminal charges, Saskatoon RCMP said in a release Friday. Saskatoon and Warman […] Read more
Ducks Unlimited shifts forage incentive for Manitoba
Reading Time: 2 minutes A program encouraging Prairie farmers to improve waterfowl habitat by flipping cropland into hayland or pasture will continue the same this spring, except in Manitoba. The DUC/CPS forage program, offered by Ducks Unlimited Canada and Crop Production Services (CPS) Canada, will still see growers in Saskatchewan and Alberta get a rebate of $100 for each […] Read more
Saudi dairy firm buying California land for fodder
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters –– Saudi Arabia’s Almarai, the largest dairy company in the Gulf, has spent C$45 million to buy land in California to supply its business with alfalfa hay, it said Sunday. The 1,790 acres of land at Blythe — in the state’s southeast corner, about 200 km east of Palm Springs — was acquired through […] Read more
Salford buys tillage equipment maker AerWay
Reading Time: 2 minutes Southwestern Ontario vertical tillage and pasture equipment maker AerWay has become part of another well-known Ontario ag equipment manufacturer. Salford Group announced in December it has bought the AerWay advanced aeration products line from the Canadian trailer systems arm of German truck, bus and trailer axle and suspension manufacturer SAF-Holland. AerWay, which operates a manufacturing […] Read more
Hay producers see increased competition, lower prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canada’s export hay prices have come down from summer highs and now sit at less than half their previous levels, but despite competition from other growing regions, a weak loonie is helping Canadian producers. South Africa, Eastern Europe and Argentina have increased their alfalfa production, said Edward J. Shaw, director of market […] Read more
U.S. EPA finalizes 2016 renewables target at 18.1B gallons
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants energy companies to blend 18.1 billion gallons (68.5 billion litres) of biofuels into the nation’s fuel supply next year, more than in a proposal laid out in May, it said in announcing final rules on renewables use for 2014-16 on Monday. The EPA’s long-awaited […] Read more
Feed: Frost pressures Australian barley
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– Following are a few highlights in the Canadian and world feed grains markets on Tuesday, Oct. 20. • The Grains Industry of Western Australia is predicting the area will harvest a 3.19 million-tonne barley crop in 2015-16. However, some recent frosts are casting questions on whether that mark will be reached. • […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
