Support from a three-year federal program and other sources has helped the Manitoba Forage Council (MFC) reach producers across the province with a message showing the production and environmental benefits of improved forage management, says the executive director of the province-wide, producer-run organization.

About $230,000 from the federal Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture (GHGMP) – from 2003 through 2005 – has and will help the Council launch and expand a wide range of educational and awareness tools that show producers how to get more out their forage resources, while enhancing the environmental integrity of their lands,” says Roberta Currah, at the MFC office in Winnipeg.

“Without the co-operation and support of the GHGMP we wouldn’t have had nearly the success of getting out the message about improved forage management to producers,” she adds. “With those program funds we were able to leverage other funds and be able to connect with many more producers.”

The GHGMP is a federal program launched in 2003 providing funds to develop awareness and further knowledge about improved production practices that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The beef sector of the program, administered by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), has provided funding for dozens of projects across Canada over the past three years.

The MFC, working with other programs and agencies such as Manitoba Agriculture, Ducks Unlimited, provincial conservation districts, the Greencover Canada Technical Assistance Program and the provincial Covering New Ground program, has used the GHGMP funding to expand a network of producer-run grazing clubs, stage seminars and schools on improved forage management, and set up dozens of on-farm demonstration projects.

“It’s important that producers become aware of these useful and practical techniques that can be used on their own farms,” says Currah. “It’s a great value to many to see what projects look like out in the field, to be able to talk to specialists, and also be able to talk to other producers about their problems and ideas and what works or doesn’t work for them. “ A more detailed feature story on the MFC projects can be found on the Internet by going to the CCA Web site at www.cattle.ca , click on the Stewardship button and follow the links.

Funding from the beef sector of the federal Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture (GHGMP) over the past three years (and continuing for one more year) has been an important boost to MFC activities. The money has been invested in dozens of projects that increase awareness and knowledge of improved forage and cattle production practices, and how those practices can lead to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle production systems.

“Doing a better job of forage management not only improves farm and ranch profitability, but is also good for the environment,” says Currah. “Although greenhouse gas emissions are a natural component of the biological systems producers work with, they do represent energy and nutrient losses. Understanding how to minimize these losses makes good environmental and economic sense.

“More grassland acres and more healthy and productive forage stands, for example, help capture carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and store it as carbon in the soil. Improved feed efficiency helps reduce the amount of methane produced by livestock. And even swathing feed in the summer so cattle can graze in the winter, which reduces the amount of tractor and feed truck operating time, helps reduce emissions produced from burning fossil fuels.”

Some of the major projects supported by GHGMP funding include completion of the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Reference Manual; popular workshops and conferences such as the Manitoba Grazing School, the Manitoba Beef and Forage Days, and the upcoming Manitoba Forage Symposium in March; and a network of 27 producer-run grazing clubs which help producers connect with specialists, as well as their peers, to learn improved forage production and grazing management practices.

In all parts of the province there has been a strong emphasis on communicating the benefits of improved forage and pasture management to producers, says Currah. Meetings, summer tours, training workshops, pasture walks, and livestock nutrition talks organized through various partners have been used to make producers aware of improved and new production practices.

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For more information, contact:

Roberta Currah
Manitoba Forage Council
Winnipeg, MB
Phone: (204) 889-5699

Pat Walker
GHGMP – Beef Project Co-ordinator
Calgary, AB
Phone: (403) 601-8991