Reading Time: 4 minutes As so often in farming, the advice on the best strategy for establishing tame pastures starts with “It depends.” “When we’re talking about general establishment considerations for all uses, we really have to look at the soil type, the texture, soil pH and how rocky it is,” says Mike Witt, a farmer, professional hydrologist and […] Read more
Getting forage crops off to a good start
Weed control and fertility are among the considerations before planting tame forage
Eastern drought zones set for livestock tax deferrals
Regions designated in P.E.I., N.S., N.B., Quebec
Reading Time: 3 minutes In a decision that may have come late for some, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and parts of southeastern Quebec and northwestern Nova Scotia have been declared drought zones for eligible livestock producers’ 2020 tax purposes. The federal government on Monday released its list and map of prescribed drought regions where tax deferral on sales […] Read more
Managing salinity with forages
Some saline areas can never grow a profitable annual crop. Two farmers share their experiences with seeding perennial forages instead
Reading Time: 8 minutes Some acres were never suited to annual crop production. As some farmers get a better handle on the profitability of each cropped acre, they are putting the most dismal of these acres back into perennial forages where they belong. Salinity is a common reason for chronic underperformance. Severe saline areas are sickly white, rimmed with […] Read more
Manitoba forage, grassland growers burned by drought
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — An ongoing lack of precipitation, which is showing no signs of letting up in the coming months according to weather forecasts, is already causing problems for Manitoba’s forage and grasslands. Growers in the province have had to deal with three straight years with lower-than-normal precipitation. In 2019, multiple rural municipalities in Manitoba’s Parkland […] Read more
Looking for the green
The inventor of Hydrogreen technology has advice for anyone looking to bring a disruptive invention to market. “Go for it,” he says. “It’s a lot of work and many sleepless nights, but there are huge rewards.”
Reading Time: 7 minutes A new indoor hydroponic technology that raises live, green fodder from seed to feed in six days is starting to disrupt the way livestock is fed on farms around the world. Bill Vanderkooi has been testing the Hydrogreen system on his Abbotsford, B.C. farm for the past two years with his 250 head of grass-finished […] Read more
More cattle, more birds and more carbon
New Brunswick community pasture project to measure the benefits of keeping land out of annual crops
Reading Time: 6 minutes The Tantramar Marsh near Sackville, New Brunswick, is a rich biodiversity zone and serves as an important flyway for North American birds. It is also home to the Tantramar Community Pasture, 1,685 acres on Crown land established in 1961 to provide cattle producers limited land to pasture their livestock and help keep costs low. About […] Read more
Tips and tricks for successful baled silage
Don’t delay cutting, and make sure bales are a consistent size
Reading Time: 5 minutes Baled silage has several advantages over dry hay, including reduced risk and a higher-quality product when it’s made right. That was the message from Manitoba Agriculture’s livestock specialist Ray Bittner at the online Ag in Motion show in July. While a perfect season can mean a good yield of dry hay with no mould and […] Read more
Manitoba to open more Crown lands to haying, grazing
Province now taking requests for permits
Reading Time: < 1 minute Manitoba livestock producers up against dry conditions can now apply for temporary passes to get onto Crown land not normally designated for grazing or haying. The province announced Friday it will make such lands available this year for agricultural use “under certain circumstances.” Permits and land uses will be handled through the Agricultural Crown Lands […] Read more
Ontario extends fruit, forage insurance premium deadlines
Extension offers 'flexibility,' Agricorp says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ontario fruit and forage growers who have production insurance premiums due this month will now have until June 30 to pay, the province said Monday. The extended premium payment deadline applies only to production insurance plans for fruit, strawberries and asparagus — and to the forage rainfall insurance plan, which uses rainfall as an indicator […] Read more
Manitoba extends forage insurance survey deadline
Review's face-to-face public meetings cancelled
Reading Time: 2 minutes Manitoba’s provincial review of its relatively under-subscribed crop insurance offerings for forage growers has extended its deadline for grower comment. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC) last week announced it has cancelled all in-person public meetings on its forage insurance review, citing the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. But the agency has extended the deadline to take part […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
