The status and functionality of a soil should be measured not only by its chemical (fertility) properties but also for its physical and biological properties. Chemical components of soil have been intensively evaluated by commercial soil testing labs in Canada. Chemical fertility recommendations have been based on this knowledge. The role of soil biology, however, is not well understood and physical characteristics have not been monitored.

The majority of the annual feed requirement comes from mixed stands of perennial grasses and legumes, therefore managing these forage resources is very important. Establishing and maintaining a successful hay-land or grazing stand requires significant investment and good management. Selecting varieties which are easy to establish and are resilient while providing high yield and quality can improve net returns for producers.

Beginning in 2018, WCFA has cooperated with the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA) on the National Industrial Hemp Variety Evaluation Trials. WCFA's trials have been established at the Brazeau County Research site (NW 14-049-09-W5M). Each year a number of dual-purpose and grain type industrial hemp varieties are evaluated for grain and/or fibre yield, and cannabinoids.

Utilizing weather stations with attached soil probes, this project is looking at differences in soil moisture profiles in various forage & cropping systems, and the overall usefulness of these technologies for forage producers.

This project focuses on the process of adopting new innovations and/or technology on Alberta ranches. Producers throughout the province have adopted a variety of innovations on their operations through this project.

Corn is a high energy feed with protein levels that will normally match the nutritional needs of a dry cow in mid and late pregnancy. It also has the potential to produce more dry matter than tame hay or forage cereals. By replacing other forms of feed with standing corn, labour and machinery use costs are reduced as no summer feed harvesting is required and winter supplemental feeding is limited.

One of the more commonly used natural breeding systems in commercial herds is the multi-sire system. One of the major disadvantages to this system, however, is that producers are often unaware of which bulls are siring calves. The use of genetic technology to assign parentage may allow producers to determine which bulls have sired calves.

Cocktail crops have traditionally been used to help hold the soil when transitioning between different types of cash crops, and are often plowed down before planting the next crop to add organic material and fertility to the soil. Farmers with livestock often select cover crops that can be grazed, adding an additional benefit as feed and the advantage of additional nutrients from animal manure.

New sainfoin varieties have shown promise for persistence under grazing in alfalfa-sainfoin mixtures, with comparable yields to alfalfa/grass mixes and are bloat mitigating. The threat of bloat in grazing livestock has stymied efforts by the livestock industry to use higher producing forage crops like alfalfa which could reduce the acres required to support livestock production and provide competitive gain opportunities for feeder cattle. The new emerging sainfoin cultivars will offer the livestock industry the opportunity to take advantage of the productivity, flexibility and profitability of legume based pastures. Sainfoin contains tannins that bind with the soluble proteins and inhibit the activity of rumen microbes; thus slowing the rate of digestion of the forages. A rapid rate of forage digestion has been determined to be a major cause of bloat.

One of the sustainable approaches in conserving our native pollinators is active research for the purpose of developing suitable Pollinator Mixes for specific agro-climatic zones in the country; that can help in establishing Pollinator Gardens or Pollinator Habitats or Pollinator Sanctuaries at suitable sites. Such sites could be farm perimeters, hard to access farm areas, agronomically non-productive or unsuitable wasteland areas, wetlands, city, municipal and rural parks, gardens and lawns, kitchen gardens, avenues, boulevards, golf courses, suitable parts of highways etc. Pollinator Mixes could include mixtures of specific wildflowers, native grasses as well as different annual/perennial forage crops that can actively attract insect pollinators in large numbers.

This project researched a system that involved early August seeding of winter cereals, grazing fall growth during the winter and harvesting a silage or grain crop the following year. This dual purpose practice is common in the south-west United States (Winter, 1990) but Canada’s much shorter growing season discourages adoption here (Baron et al. 1999, Salmon et al. 1996). However, studies suggest that winter cereals may extend annual crop production from four to six months (Baron, 1993).

Sainfoin (Onobryschis spp.) is an introduced, ancient, perennial forage legume that has been grown in Europe and Asia for centuries. Traditionally known as “healthy hay”, this cool-season legume can be used as hay, silaged, or grazed in pastures-alone or in a grass-legume mix.

The main interest in sainfoin has been its qualities in resisting bloat. Condensed tannins in the plant bind to protein in feed, allowing it to be digested as a bypass protein, avoiding the problem of large amounts of protein being quickly digested in the rumen--the leading cause of bloat. Studies show that 20-30% sainfoin in an alfalfa pasture can, in certain cases, eliminate the risk of bloat.

Older Sainfoin cultivars, although easy to establish and seed, do not tolerate frequent cutting or grazing, and lack competitive ability to grow with other forages, and therefore cannot be used with alfalfa for reducing pasture bloat.

Sainfoin has previously only been grown for research in Alberta’s brown soil zones. With increasing interest in growing Sainfoin in the west-central region of the province, research to determine suitability in the gray wooded soil zone was needed. Beyond determining the suitability of this crop for this region, varieties were tested for yield and winter survivability from 2013 until 2016 to assess and compare the new and old sainfoin varieties.

For this trial four varieties were grown with Nova ("the older variety") being used as the check. Three experimental sainfoin lines were developed by Dr. Surya Acharya and are designated LRC05-3900, LRC05-3901, and LRC05-3902.

Beginning in 2009, under the direction and management of WCFA, Alberta producers and specialists evaluated the suitability of triticale swath grazing in terms of nutrition, palatability, practicality and cost. WCFA set up a four-year program in which producers would test spring triticale, winter triticale or a mixture of both as part of their swath grazing systems. Since then, WCFA, producer cooperators and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) advisors have observed and analyzed the practice in terms of crop production, nutrition, palatability, cost of feeding and overall value within a grazing system.

The Regional Silage Trial was initiated in 2009 with six Applied Research Associations (ARAs) and Forage Associations (FAs) participating with funding from the Alberta Beef Producers from 2009 – 2011.