NOVEMBER 2016 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC FORAGE from page 22
there. Although results were spotty at first, by fall, the crops were looking better.
“And as we move into the winter, he’s going to start harvesting samples and we’ll send them in for forage quality analysis.”
At this point, the Russian wild rye seems to have outperformed in terms of yield despite the weeds that have interfered in all of the plots, and the crested wheat grass planted in the passively fertilized field is clearly heavier than the same variety grown in the unfertilized field. “Testing will tell how passive fertilization might affect quality and yield and we’ll also see how quality changes over time,” said the scientist.
High-yield alfalfa
Wayne Ray, who has 2,200 acres south of Fort Fraser, was looking for a high-yield alfalfa variety when he planted Vision and a five-way blend in separate plots. Vision and the blend were seeded at 12.5 lbs and 25 lbs per acre in June 2015.
This year, the five-way blend at 25 lbs per acre had the best yield at 3.5 tons to the acre dry weight. The 12.5 lb per acre blend gave a little over 2.5 tons, Ray said. The high-density Vision output was just under 2.5 tons per acre while the low was just under two tons per acre.
Varieties in the five-way blend included a combination of 30% TH2, 30% Haygrazer, 15% Rugged ST,15% Response WT and 10% Runner, all with different root systems and growth patterns, which might explain why it performed so well despite the summer rain that delayed harvest. The mix might also explain why it crowded out most of the weeds that popped up in the other plots, Ray added.
Seeding rates
“The final establishment in the fall really reflects the seeding rate; you typically get twice as many plants when you seed twice as many pounds of seed,” Tarasoff concluded. She added the blend was taking nutrients from various soil levels rather than just one due to the different root systems; they’re not competing with each other for the same resources and perhaps that was also an advantage.
Traugott Klein manages crops for Vanderhoof hay exporter Tophay Agri- Industries Inc.
“What we tried to find out in this trial was which variety retains the protein the best until cutting time, when the weather is right to cut, and it is very clear that there is a definite difference among varieties.”
Klein said he was looking for protein levels of at least 18% minimum to meet market
Good planning essential
VANDERHOOF – Simplicity and planning are key to getting useful results when it comes to independent on-farm research trials, says Ministry of Agriculture agrologist Lavona Liggins. Liggins addressed the issue of time and complexity during a forage field day to show the progress being made on a climate change adaptation project underway in the Central Interior. “These farmers had access to Dr. Tarasoff and me and other resources for their research so it was possible to do fairly complex work,” explained Liggins. “For individuals who don’t have those resources, it will be important to keep the goals simple and straight forward, especially at first.”
Liggins and Dr. Catherine Tarasoff of Agrowest Consulting agreed the best way to ensure success with a project is to first decide on a clear question and to look for one thing at a time, such as yield. They said one-question projects are less work and
more apt to meet expectations.
According to Dr. Tarasoff, planning is another major component to successful research.
“If a certain type of seed is needed, then make sure it’s available at an affordable price. Find out what machinery will be needed and whether or not it’s available; find out if there’s someone else who might be interested in your research and see if they’d be willing to be a part of the project. Once the planning is done, the project is half way there,” said Tarasoff.
Tarasoff is in the process of updating a producer-oriented manual for conducting independent research on-farm.
“It will apply to livestock producers, orchardists, market gardeners, anyone who is involved in agriculture.”
She expects to have the manual available through the BC Forage Council by Christmas.
demands. Of the six alfalfa varieties tried – Hybrid 2410, Leader, WL319, TopHand, Dalton, and Stealth – Klein said Dalton and Stealth were the best, Top Hand and WL 319 were okay and Hybrid had mixed results.
Klein’s assistant, Sarah Mueller, conducted most of the research in terms of sampling and analysis and said in the first year the crops were seeded at 18 lbs per acre and irrigated. No irrigation was needed in 2016 and while WL319 and Top Hand had the highest protein levels from early to late bud stage, they and Leader reached maturity in early June.
“In this area, we can’t harvest dry hay in early June.“ She added that by the time they did their first cut June 28, Leader Top Hand and Hybrid had lost value but Stealth and Dalton met Tophay’s quality standards and maintained those protein levels throughout the various growth stages.
Funding for the project is provided by the Investment Agriculture Foundation Climate Action Initiative, through the Growing Forward 2 program, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, BC Forage Council, Omenica Beetle Action Coalition, Nechako Regional Cattlemen and the Nechako-Kitimaat
Development Fund Society. Preliminary results of the research is available online in
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Catherine Tarasoff, Agrowest Consulting (Chris Yates photo)
the BC Forage Council section of the FarmWest website and
final results will be posted there in December.
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