Benefiting From Forages on Your Farm

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Benefiting From Forages on Your Farm

• Shorten stand length
• Rotate around farm
• Try cover crops if you dont have livestock

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Average forage stand length in Manitoba is 6.5
years. Is this too long?

• Reasons for forage termination
• Low yield (winter kill, drought, weeds)
• Pocket gophers
• Only 11.6 for rotation benefit

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Average forage stand length in Manitoba is 6.5
years. Is this too long?

• Reasons for forage termination
• Low yield (winter kill, drought, weeds)
• Pocket gophers
• Only 11.6 for rotation benefit

Kelner, 1994 Ominski, 1999 Winnipeg Research
indicates that the ideal length of alfalfa stand
to obtain N benefits and weed suppression is 2
years under good moisture 3 years under drier
conditions
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The goal should be to shorten forage stands and
rotate them around the farm to obtain maximum
rotational benefits.
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For example
Instead of a 6 year forage stand
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For example
Try a 3 year forage stand so benefits reach rest
of farm twice as fast.
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What if I dont have livestock?
Forage benefits without livestock
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Heat accumulation and precipitation for various
locations in Manitoba after winter wheat harvest.
Steinbach 461 GDD 104 mm Morden 662 GDD 87
mm Arborg 291 GDD 84 mm Portage 532 GDD 99
mm Brandon 446 GDD 77 mm Dauphin 376 GDD 70
mm Pierson 513 GDD 69 mm Ninette 484 GDD 76
mm Glenlea 536 GDD 133 mm
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In double cropping, a grain crop and legume are
grown in succession in the same field without
overlapping. E.g. chickling vetch and black
lentil can be double cropped after winter wheat
and fall rye are harvested.
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In relay cropping, a legume crop, or relay crop,
is seeded directly into the established first
crop. E.g. alfalfa and red clover can be sown as
relay crops into winter wheat and fall rye in the
spring after they are established.
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Relay cropping red clover in winter wheat
before harvest
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Relay cropping red clover in winter wheat after
harvest
Late-season N fixation and weed suppression
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The above image shows black medic, a self-seeding
legume, regenerating under a flax crop. As the
flax continues to grow, black medic forms a
low-growing living mulch under the crop canopy.
After the flax is harvested, the black medic
continues to grow and set seed until the first
killing frost.
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Herbicide can be applied to medics to get the
crop established. Once the crop is established,
medics will re-grow from seed in the soil.
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Other medics, such as snail medic shown here, are
being evaluated at the University of Manitoba for
their potential as a self-regenerating cover crop.
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Forage Seed Crops Examples alfalfa. Red clover,
birds foot trefoil, timothy, annual or perennial
ryegrasses, tall fescue
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Conclusions -Forage benefits many!! -Need
active program to rotate forages around
farm -Cover crop systems?
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