COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MARCH 2020 Selective grazing provides option to fertilizers
Travelling workshop offers forage production strategies
by ANGELA ABRAHAO WILLIAMS LAKE – From
February 7-11, the BC Forage Council was on tour across northern and central BC with a series of Forage Management Knowledge Transfer events.
Appearing in Smithers, Burns Lake, Vanderhoof, Prince George, Quesnel and Williams Lake, the BC Forage Council partnered with regional and local cattlemen’s associations to host the series. The outreach events were aimed at regional producers and focused on current sustainable forage management practices to improve overall production. Speaker Grant Lastiwka, a
former forage extension specialist from Alberta, spoke on species and cultivar considerations and matching the feed value of forage to livestock demand. Lastiwka said that one of the best tips he received early in his career was to firm the ground before planting. Lastiwka explains that the seed needs a firmer surface to rest on nearer the surface for seed-to-soil contact, and that planting the seed and then firming the ground leaves the seed too far down in the soil to benefit growth. Josh Andrews, nutrient management agrologist from the BC Ministry of Agriculture,
discussed nutrient management in forage. “If you’re not one who wants to get the manure equipment out, or you don’t have access to one, you can definitely think of your cattle as moving fertilizers. You can put them where you want nutrients to be positive,” he says. “It does require a bit of
forethought and it is definitely more management than just letting them graze somewhere, but I think it would be a great way, if you are bringing on supplemental feed, to get a fertilizer value from that feed you are bringing on.”
He explains that the
amount of nutrients the cattle will deliver to the ground will depend on what they’re being fed. “If you have more growing
animals, they are relatively going to eat more and deposit more. Besides from feeding your animal, whether you want to make it big or small, as they get bigger you are going to spread those nutrients out further and put fewer pounds in one area,” he said.
“But if you tighten it up,
you can really concentrate nutrients. The number of animals you have in an area is probably the biggest factor.” Jim Forbes, a former agrologist with the BC
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Seed selection, good planting techniques and the right fertilizer are all factors in achieving the best results for forage crops. LIZ TWAN FILE PHOTO
Ministry of Agriculture, spoke about cost of production. Forbes spent a
considerable amount of time in his career working on cost of production tools for producers and a lot of the information we have today is based on that work. In 2015- 2016, Forbes and George
Geldart developed the Unit Cost of Production (UCOP) calculator to help producers calculate their own Unit Cost of Production on an annual basis. Forbes’ work has been the foundation for all the BC cost of production studies. Forbes notes that
information needs to be
updated with producers’ own personal cost of production numbers. Relying on benchmarks alone doesn’t give an accurate picture of the cost of production. Forbes encourages
vigorous record keeping for accuracy and success for producers.
PROVINCIAL LIVESTOCK FENCING PROGRAM Applications Close:
September 30, 2020 View program updates at
cattlemen.bc.ca/fencing.htm
Office: 1.778.412.7000 Toll Free: 1.866.398.2848 email:
fencebc@gmail.com
In partnership with:
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