Atlantic Forage Field Day draws large crowd to Nappan
/by George Fullerton
More than 120 people took advantage of the warm and sunny weather on Aug. 7 to attend the Atlantic Forage Field Day at the Nappan Experimental Farm in Nappan, N.S.
The field day is a collaborative effort of the Maritime Beef Council (MBC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), and highlights research projects focused on improving pasture and forage crop production.
MBC industry coordinator Amy Higgins started things off with some welcoming and housekeeping points. Then Dr. Mark Hodges, an AAFC associate director based in Nova Scotia, discussed the history of the Nappan Experimental Farm and the Kentville Research and Development Centre, current research at those locations, and collaboration with other research centres. He championed the forage field day as an opportunity to share research results directly with producers.
AAFC forage scientists Dr. Kathleen Glover and Dr. Yousef Papadopoulos made the first presentation, focusing on winter survival of forage legumes. The presentation took place on research plots that had been either sod-seeded or frost-seeded with varieties of alfalfa or Bird’s-foot trefoil.
Glover said that the freeze-thaw cycles of the past winter had devastated alfalfa stands on the research farm – including in research plots – as it had on many farms throughout the Maritimes.
Glover and Papadopoulos summarized that frost-seeding Bird’s-foot trefoil had positive results. They rated the performance of three cultivars, stating that the Langille and Bruce cultivars were slightly better performers than the Leo cultivar. They said both Langille and Bruce were developed with exceptional seedling vigour traits, which helps them become established under frost-seeding regimes.
Discussion developed around timing of seed application. Glover recommended March through the first few weeks of April when freeze-thaw cycles typically help seed make contact with mineral soil.
The researchers touched on the importance of grazing or clipping fields in autumn to reduce thatch, which can prevent seed from contacting soil. They also underlined the importance of maintaining ideal soil pH, fertility, and seeding rates.
Glover recommended frost seeding at one-and-a-half times the normal seeding rate to help ensure adequate seed contacts the soil and germinates.
Back at the farm pavilion, Higgins provided an overview of initiatives the MBC is involved in, including the development of eight training modules, a data management project, the Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) program, the Maritime Beef Conference, and of course the forage field day.
WEIGHTY DISCUSSION
The presentations moved to an outdoor tent for a session conducted by agronomist and crop adviser Bill Thomas. To kick off the session, Thomas invited his audience to guess the weight of six bales placed next to the tent. He pointed out that the bales were different sizes and made to different densities.
While the guesses on the weights varied, Thomas made the point that you need to know the weight of bales to know their value when buying or selling. He added that when buying forage, producers should also have access to its nutritional analysis to help determine value.
Thomas continued with detailed information on soil fertility and pH balance, highlighting the need to give specific attention to sulphur and other micronutrients.
The presentation, with lots of audience participation, also reviewed forage harvesting. The recommendation is to cut in the evening when forage has its highest sugar content, supporting good fermentation in the wrapped bale or in the silo. There was also discussion on the optimum moisture content and equipment to produce high-quality silage and hay.
Lunch was provided in the pavilion, supported by the Linden 4-H Club.
Bruce Andrews, the beef procurement and logistics manager with Atlantic Beef Products Inc. (ABPI), announced that the ABPI plant in Albany, P.E.I., had been recognized as a certified sustainable beef processing operation following a detailed audit process.
The certification is based on five principles set out by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB). The five principles are natural resources management, people and communities, animal health and welfare, food and efficiency, and innovation. Beef produced through the VBP+ program will be eligible to carry the CRSB certified sustainable beef label, which assures consumers that the product was produced by sustainable practices from birth to meat counter.
FORAGE AND SPUDS
Afternoon presentations began with Cedric MacLeod of the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association (CFGA), who gave an update on the association’s activities and initiatives. The CFGA national conference will be held in Moncton, Nov. 13 and 14.
Since there is a high demand globally for quality forage, MacLeod promoted the concept of fitting forage as a cash crop into a potato rotation. He said advantages for Maritime potato growers include income, soil building, and weed control, adding that Saint John, N.B., is an ideal port to ship from.
MacLeod said the CFGA is focused on building relationships with provincial soil and crop associations.
Next up, Ellen Crane with the Beef Cattle Research Council highlighted a number of the council’s projects and beef and forage management decision-making tools and calculators. These tools can help with forage analysis and bull valuation, among other things.
Back out on the research farm, Glover used test plots to illustrate research evaluating companion crops for alfalfa establishment. Both barley and Berseem clover were planted as companion crops, and both have potential to provide a good forage crop in addition to nursing the alfalfa. Glover and her team expect to have data on that research project available next year.
A project that had ryegrass inter-seeded under corn is a collaboration directed by the Nappan Experimental Farm with input from the Maritime Beef Council.
MacLeod shared that he had inter-seeded ryegrass when he applied a top dressing of fertilizer to his grain corn crop at the five-leaf stage. He said he did so in order to have a cover crop growing after the corn is harvested, as well as to limit water and wind erosion.
“Having a cover crop under the corn will also help improve trafficability on the land when the corn is harvested, which is typically in later autumn when there is a good deal of moisture,” he said. “The grass mat will provide better traction for equipment compared to wet earth.”
In operations that graze corn, a ryegrass cover crop may supply a nutritional balance to the high-energy corn, and ultimately support soil microbiology.
With a residual grass cover crop in place after the primary crop has been harvested, there’s less chance that nutrients from manure spread in the fall will be lost to runoff, but instead will be available for uptake in the next growing season. Timing cover crop seeding is important because crown closure limits germination and growth.
This AAFC project will provide valuable knowledge about inter-seeding and how it works in the Maritimes.
ANNUAL CROP GRAZING
AAFC research biologist John Duynisveld joined MacLeod for a presentation on annual crop grazing and emergency forage production. A related research project was established to help producers deal with a changing climate.
Duynisveld and MacLeod brought the audience to a field plot that had been planted in oats and peas. MacLeod explained that the late, cold spring resulted in planting late (mid-June) and in less than ideal conditions. Growth response was impacted.
The initial plan was to plant earlier in the spring, have a crop of oats and peas to harvest as bale silage, and then follow up with no-till seeding a combination of turnip, radish, oilseeds, and sunflowers.
A short time prior to the forage field day, the oat and pea stand was direct seeded with turnip and radish to add another grazing crop to the plot.
Similar annual crop/grazing strategies are used in other regions. The demonstration at Nappan will provide information on planting and harvesting timing, and how different varieties respond in the Maritime climate and soils.
There was then a demonstration of a turbo disc creating openings in a field where a forage crop had been harvested. MacLeod said the narrow openings in the sod create a good opportunity for broadcasted seed to contact mineral soil and develop. He said this type of tilling has the potential for producers to increase forage species diversity in established sod land – either forage producing or pasture – without the expense of conventional plow/harrow land renovation.
The wrap-up stop for the day was with Duynisveld, who shared information on the national Sustainable Beef and Forage Science Cluster which is in the second year of a five-year project. The research focuses on the impacts of different rotational grazing regimes on the persistence of legumes in the pasture sward and on beef production. The study features a variety of different paddock sizes and grazing durations.
The forage field day is a valuable experience for producers. They get to see demos and long-term projects directed at improving forage and pasture production in their region and climate. It’s also an opportunity to interact directly with AAFC staff, the Maritime Beef Council, and other industry players.
