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.

SACA secured funding with the Land Stewardship Centre of Canada to launch a Community Stewardship Initiative on Shiningbank Lake. This project was brought forth by Yellowhead County amid concerns surrounding the health of the lake, the lake riparian areas and the land adjacent to the lake.

This initiative aims to bring awareness of riparian health, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, water quality, and shoreline health to landowners, producers and recreational users on or near Shiningbank Lake.

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).

Each year SACA partners with a number of counties to offer Pond Days programming to Grade 4 and 5 students in June. Students are taught about conservation and environmental stewardship, and specifically the importance of riparian areas.

Pond Days is made successful by the number of volunteers that participate each year in manning the various educational stations at the lake throughout the day. Students rotate through the stations, giving them the opportunity to gain hands-on experience on a variety of topics. Topics typically include:

The Canada thistle stem-gall fly is a biological control agent for use in controlling Canada thistle.

The stem-gall fly attacks the stem of the thistle plant, boring in and causing the plant to form gall tissue. Females lay their eggs on the apical meristem (tip) of developing shoots in the early summer, and larvae burrow into the shoots. Larval feeding triggers gall formation, which stresses the plant. The gall becomes a nutrient sink, directing nutrients away from the plant’s normal metabolic & reproductive functions, lowering normal plant function and reproduction. Abnormally developed flower heads frequently occur above the gall, resulting in fewer flowers and lowered seed production. Galls vary in size, depending on the number of larvae present within. Galls may range in size from small (marble) to large (walnut/plum), containing anywhere from three or four larvae to upwards of 25 larvae. The flies overwinter in the gall as mature larvae and emerge as adults in the spring (around June) as the gall tissue deteriorates.

The Canada thistle stem-gall fly is a biological control agent for use in controlling Canada thistle.

The stem-gall fly attacks the stem of the thistle plant, boring in and causing the plant to form gall tissue. Females lay their eggs on the apical meristem (tip) of developing shoots in the early summer, and larvae burrow into the shoots. Larval feeding triggers gall formation, which stresses the plant. The gall becomes a nutrient sink, directing nutrients away from the plant’s normal metabolic & reproductive functions, lowering normal plant function and reproduction. Abnormally developed flower heads frequently occur above the gall, resulting in fewer flowers and lowered seed production. Galls vary in size, depending on the number of larvae present within. Galls may range in size from small (marble) to large (walnut/plum), containing anywhere from three or four larvae to upwards of 25 larvae. The flies overwinter in the gall as mature larvae and emerge as adults in the spring (around June) as the gall tissue deteriorates.