Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists in Lacombe, Alberta have been working over the past few years to extend the grazing season for beef cattle right through winter using a feed management system called swath grazing. The economic benefits over traditional winter feeding systems are considerable. It reduces labour, fuel, feed and manure handling costs during the winter - which are considerable for beef operations.
Learn more about swath grazing in this video.
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Full Video Transcript:
Narrator: Cattle a lot of food. A herd of cattle can eat a ton. In the summer months, when grazing crops are plentiful, keeping the herd fed is relatively uncomplicated. But keeping a herd fed during the cold winter months is very expensive. At the research centre in Lacombe, Alberta, researchers are looking at ways to help beef producers reduce these operating costs while continuing to meet the nutritional needs of the herd. Scientist Vern Baron is one of these researchers. He is looking at a new practice called swath grazing that could prove to be very beneficial to beef producers.
Vern Baron: Swath grazing is where we grow the crop during the growing season in the summer. We cut it in September. So it remains in the field over the winter and the cows graze it even under the snow from probably around November until about March every winter.
Narrator: Swath grazing is just like providing the cattle with frozen TV diners. And they don't mind eating them outside. Cattle usually spend the winters in the cold. More than being convenient, swath grazing provides quantifiable benefits for the producer.
Cletus Sehn: With swath grazing we're able to extend the grazing season. Which means we don't have to incur the cost of harvesting the feed and transporting it. We're going to bring the cows to the feed. When you don't have to start up expensive machinery and pump expensive diesel fuel into it, those input costs when added up over time are huge. Cows that stand in a corral are not going to stop doing what they do. That manure needs to be dealt with. Bringing the cattle to the feed all of a sudden, now we don't have any manure removal costs. In fact, we have a cost benefit. We're putting the nutrients back on the land.
Narrator: Researchers are now working on ways to increase swath crop yields which will deliver yet another benefit to the producer.
Vern Baron: As we increase the yield of the crops that we use for winter feed we're virtually reducing the amount of land that we use by about 50% compared to conventional methods. This allows the producer to use that extra land to produce other crops that might bring in cash flow to his enterprise. We have between 35% and 50% of producers adopting swath grazing. So that's a very successful new practice for people to use. Now we're starting to work with plant breeders in developing varieties and species that will be better suited and higher quality, and maintain their quality through the winter better than we have in the past.
Narrator: For Canadian cattle producers smart science is efficient and economical.