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Innovation on the Ranch
March 2 @ 10:00 am - 4:30 pm
Join us for a day exploring research and innovation for your ranch!
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Brush Control on Pasture: Utilizing Prescribed Burning
While our relationship with fire on the prairies has varied and grown complicated over the years, it’s widely agreed upon that the Great Plains only exist as a combination of grazing, climate, and fire. In the absence of fire in the last 100 years, we are seeing unprecedented amounts of encroachment by woody shrubs, trees, and non-fire adapted invasive species. While fire won’t solve all our problems, the reintroduction of low intensity controlled prescribed fires has the potential to pushback encroachment, making available more grazing acres and a higher abundance of productive feed. Prescribed fire also helps break down old thatch, promoting nutrient cycling and the release of beneficial minerals back into the soil.
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Matching cattle mineral programs to changes in pasture grass mineral content
Mineral content of pasture is highly variable and largely dependent on geographical region, history of the land, surrounding oil and gas activity, grass species, and weather patterns. Both deficiencies and toxicities have negative consequences on cattle health, reproduction and when severe, can be life threatening. This presentation will discuss our preliminary results showing the mineral content of pasture in 9 different regions of the province, and how mineral levels change throughout the grazing season.
11:45 AM – 12:15 PM
Securing Success: Funding Opportunities for your Farm or Ranch
Learn about current funding opportunities available including the Resilient Agriculture Landscapes Program and the LARA Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program.
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM
Lunch and Tradeshow
1:00 PM – 1:20 PM
Methane Emissions Framework Update
1:20 PM – 2:20 PM
Unlocking the Genetic Potential of Your Herd
If you’re a commercial beef producer in Western Canada, generally speaking, you’ve got a herd of crossbred cows. That means Gentec’s Replacement Heifer Profit Index (RHPI) Score™ should be one of your go-to tools. Why? It speaks to selecting replacement heifers with an optimal level of hybrid vigour, fertility, longevity and lifetime productivity.
2:20 PM – 3:00 PM
Coffee Break and Tradeshow
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
Corn Intercropping Strategies to Increase Protein in Beef Cattle Grazing
There are many economic benefits to extending grazing season on cow calf operations and corn provides a way to do that. Corn is higher yielding and higher in energy than most perennial forages, but it also has increased costs associated with growing it and although it works well for mature cows, growing animals don’t do as well due to the low protein content.
3:45 PM – 4:30 PM
Preparing for a Dry Spring: Ultra-Early Seeded Winter Cereals for Forage
Winter cereals seeded in the fall have been shown to provide an early season grazing opportunity for livestock producers the following growing season. This could allow for delayed turnout into stressed perennial pastures, thus providing more recovery time for those forages. A second option is to seed winter cereals in the spring, which prevents the cereals from entering a reproductive stage, meaning that these winter cereals would remain vegetative through summer and fall.
Speakers include:
Dr. Emma McGough (University of Manitoba), Alyssa Krawchuk P.Ag. (LARA), Abby-Ann Redman M.Sc. (Blue Rock Animal Nutrition) and more…
