The Saskatchewan Forage Council is pleased to be cooperating with producers and stakeholder groups around the province on a number of Agriculture Demonstration of Practices and Technology (ADOPT) projects.  The ADOPT program was announced by the provincial government this summer as part of the Growing Forward Initiative.  The ADOPT program provides funding to help producer groups evaluate and demonstrate agricultural practices and technologies at the local level. Producers can attend these demonstrations and assess the merit of adapting these practices and technologies in their farming operation.
 
The SFC along with partner organizations is currently working on four projects including:
·         Establishment of Alfalfa in Existing Grass Stands
·         Effect of Bale Grazing on Subsequent Pasture/Hay Yields
·         Establishing Cicer Milkvetch in Existing Grass Stands
·         Using Stockpiled Perennial Forages
 
The alfalfa demonstration will look at the success of either drilling or broadcasting alfalfa seed onto existing grass stands with or without phosphorus fertilizer.  Seeding will take place during the fall of 2009 and establishment success evaluated during the summer of 2010 and 2011.  This demonstration will be carried out at three sites in the province to incorporate differences in soils and climatic conditions.  

 

The bale grazing demonstration will take place near Biggar, SK and will look at the effect of bale grazing on subsequent forage yields at that site.  Bales will be set out in the fall of 2009 on perennial forage, bale grazing will take place during the winter of 2009/2010 and forage yields will be determined on the site and an adjacent non-bale grazed site during the summer of 2010 and 2011.

The cicer milkvetch demonstration will consist of broadcasting seed into an existing grass stand in the fall of 2009 and bale grazing on the site as a method of incorporation.  Establishment success will be evaluated during the summer of 2010 and 2011.  This demonstration will be carried out at three sites across the province. 
 
The stockpiled perennial forage demonstration will look at the economic implications of grazing either stockpiled standing or stockpiled swathed perennial forages.  These two options will also be compared to traditional confinement winter feeding.  Perennial forage will be grazed during the fall/winter of 2009/2010 and economic comparisons made in the spring of 2010.  This demonstration will also be carried out at three sites across the province.
 
Sites will be incorporated into local field days and producer focused meetings wherever possible as these projects progress.  Please stay tuned for more information on these projects and for details on upcoming field days.
 
The Saskatchewan Forage Council gratefully acknowledges funding provided by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture as well as the cooperation of producers who will be hosting these sites.  Technical assistance for these projects is being provided by staff from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, the Western Beef Development Centre and Ducks Unlimited Canada.