Welcome to the new CFGA newsletter and be sure to check out our new CFGA website ! I trust you find them exciting and that they will provide you with some meaningful insight into Canada's forage sector. Forages are a $5 billion industry and are  the largest single crop grown in Canada. They also provide a significant contribution to carbon sequestration.

Read Mor e

The CFGA is set to launch itself into a climate change leadership role within Canadian agriculture.

 

Member of Parliament Matt DeCourcey (Fredericton) announced an investment of $656,000 this week for a project with the CFGA to demonstrate to farmers the carbon sequestration (sink) potential of their farmlands.

 

The CFGA is in the preliminary stages of the program which will develop and test a carbon reduction protocol for high performance forage management systems in Canada.

 

CFGA Chairman Ray Robertson says this is an exciting time for Canadian agriculture.

 

"Producers know forages are valuable at capturing carbon," says Robertson. "However, until now, there was no way to quantify the full value of the ecological goods and services provided by the grasslands sector. Nor was there a way to quantify the economic value of the contributions made by individual landowners who increase soil carbon storage with their adoption of beneficial management practices and the use of new, high performance forage genetics. This project will change that."

 

CFGA General Manager Cedric MacLeod says the first phase is to develop an approved greenhouse gas quantification protocol for the Canadian forage sector.

 

"The protocol will be flexible enough to incorporate all climate zones in Canada where forages can be reasonably produced," MacLeod says. "This will expand and compliment the existing work by Canadian researchers related to best management practices, forage and soil sequestration potential, both at the university research level and through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada."

 

The second phase is to field test the approved protocol with forage producers across Canada. MacLeod says the test phase will gauge sector-wide opportunities for enhancing carbon sequestration and the potential to create carbon offset credits for Canadian grassland managers. Outstanding gaps will be identified, as well as challenges in protocol implementation and record management.

 

Funding for the program comes from the federal Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Program.

Read More

The last edition of the Quebec Forage Council's Hay Day was once again a great success. The event took place Sept. 13, 2016, at Norfoin Inc. in Saint-Cesaire, Que., and broke the previous record of participants with nearly 240 people registered for the day.

Marc and Chantal Bercier's farm in Eastern Ontario is a prime example of a farm committed to environmental stewardship.

 

The Berciers are winners of the 2016 Canadian Farm-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award , presented in partnership by the CFGA, Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the U.S.-based Pollinator Partnership. The award recognizes the contribution of Canadian farmers in protecting and creating environments where pollinators can thrive. The Berciers received the award at the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign conference, which took place last fall in Washington, DC.

Read More

Message from New Holland

According to agricultural nutrition experts, the most important factor influencing quality of hay and silage is moisture.

Experts agree that producers should test moisture content before, during and after the harvest season. A moisture tester is invaluable when it comes to preserving the value of your crop and ensuring that it sells for the right price. It takes the guesswork out of testing moisture and eliminates the possibility of wasted crops and missed profits due to human error.

Established in 1921, Wilbur-Ellis is an international marketer and distributor of agricultural products, animal feed and specialty chemicals and ingredients. One of the many facets of the business is the forage export business and Wilbur-Ellis has been exporting forages in Canada since 1991.

 

"We began with a facility in Lethbridge and expanded to a second facility in Cremona in 2006," says Andrew Jungwirth, Wilbur-Ellis' forage sales manager. "Today, we supply high quality forage to customers globally. Our business model is relationship focused with attention to detail on service and consistent quality."

Read More

A daptive multi-paddock grazing is a management practice that uses high-density mob grazing with shorter grazing periods and longer recovery periods.

Basically, says Dr. Richard Teague, a range ecologist with Texas A&M AgriLife Research, it is rotational grazing but with extra benefits including  better performing animals and improved soil health, which in turn improves forage production.

Read More

The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association is working with the Ontario Forage Council to host the 8th Annual CFGA Conference at the Delta Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre, Nov. 14 to 16, 2017. This year's theme is Next Generation Forage Cropping Systems: Profit Above, Wealth Below in recognition of the important role forage and grasslands play in providing both economic and environmental benefits to Canadians from coast to coast.

 

Conference organizers are working on a powerful lineup of educational and informative speakers in four key areas the conference is focused on: soil carbon storage, soil health enhancement, forage exports and profitable forage systems. 

Read More