Crops, pastures and haylands throughout Western and Central Canada are parched.

Today’s forage research provides tomorrow’s solutions

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

Today’s research won’t help you weather this year’s drought, but the practical information and advice you’ll read elsewhere in the September issue of Canadian Cattlemen (and at beefresearch.ca) will. Those tips, covering everything from alternative feeds to weaning, all originate from past research done by scientists and refined by producers. But producer-funded research underway today […] Read more

While it is important to be aware of risks associated with feeding canola forage, it may provide an alternate forage option for drought-stricken livestock producers.

Drought-stressed canola a possible forage for livestock

Poor canola stands may provide an alternate forage option for drought-stricken livestock producers

Drought stress has resulted in poor canola stands that are unable to be harvested in North Dakota. Poor canola stands may provide an alternate forage option for drought-stricken livestock producers. “Livestock producers facing forage shortages may be able to feed their cows canola, provided they take certain precautions,” says Miranda Meehan, North Dakota State University […] Read more


Rye ready for chopping at milky head stage.

Hybrid fall rye offers high yield, flexibility to beef producers

This relatively new forage can be grown for grazing, silage or grain, and can fit into double-cropping systems

Hybrid fall rye is one of the newer forage options available today, and can be a good fit to producers looking for a high-yielding feed with flexibility. Herman Wehrle, director of commercialization and market development at FP Genetics, says his job is to bring new crops to the marketplace. “After five years of commercialization, we […] Read more

Tips for managing through a drought

Tips for managing through a drought

News Roundup from the June 2021 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

It’s a given that farmers and ranchers will face drought cycles over their lifetimes, and as the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) notes, managing forage and water through those cycles is challenging. Drought reaches beyond the southern Prairies, too — as Saskatchewan Agriculture recently noted, even producers in northern growing regions with plenty of sloughs, […] Read more


Sweet clover is grown extensively for forage, but mould can create an anticoagulant in hay or silage.

Beware sweet clover poisoning during calving

As one producer discovered, sweet clover poisoning can trigger widespread hemorrhaging, especially during calving season

Pilgrim Winslow’s life had mainly been in the fast lane of oil exploration, successful businesses and high-level finance. He retired early and bought a half-section farm east of Regina. Winslow had built a small barn, a set of corrals and spent his days looking after 16 two-year-old Hereford heifers, bred to calve near the end […] Read more

Chokecherry.

Vet Advice: Not all that’s green is edible

Plant poisoning is a common problem throughout North America, causing significant losses from sudden death, reproductive failure, poor growth rates, tainting of animal products (milk, meat) and physical damage. Recognizing toxic plants and understanding the effects of toxins on animals is an important aspect of good range management. Plant poisoning can be largely avoided. Plants […] Read more


Salinity in central Saskatchewan, just off Highway 15.

Managing soil salinity for the long haul

Establishing perennial forages is one of the top recommended methods to manage saline soils for the long term

Growing up on a mixed farm in southern Alberta, Alan Iwaasa was no stranger to the costly headaches that saline soils could create. “There were certain land bases that just were poor,” Iwaasa recalls. “For a period of time, there was a lot of effort that was looking at levelling your land and putting in […] Read more

Yearling steers grazed each site for about 30 to 40 days in August and September for three years.

Grazing binary forage mixtures during the summer slump

A University of Saskatchewan study evaluates new grass and legume varieties at two different soil zones in the province

Grazing grass and legume mixtures in late summer and fall has the potential for promising gains, research conducted in south and central Saskatchewan shows. There are proven benefits to including a legume in a mixture to improve grass pastures. But researchers at the University of Saskatchewan’s Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE) saw an […] Read more



The South East Research Farm’s trial on soybeans and flowery silage corn after frost.

Forage intercropping trials show promise in Western Canada

Research is underway to fully understand the best practices for incorporating forage mixtures in this cropping method

The practice of intercropping is receiving more attention on the Prairies, and research centres are exploring the possibilities for forage options. The potential benefits are promising, researchers say, but more work is needed to provide producers with accurate information on how best to apply this method. “I think it’s really interesting that there’s some combinations […] Read more