Following a successful year of grazing field trials and demonstrations across Western Canada in 2004, the developers of a new livestock bloat control product will now focus on the economic performance of grazing legume forages versus grass forages, says an Alberta researcher.

There will be a reduced number of on-farm trials evaluating the effectiveness of Alfasure this summer, says Dr. Merle Olson, with the University of Calgary (U of C). “We know the product works, so now our emphasis will be more on evaluating the beef production advantages, as well as the economic advantages of using forage legumes in rotation,” he says.

Further analysis of 2004 data will also show the environmental benefits of producing and grazing legume forages, says Olson, a veterinarian and gastrointestinal specialist at the U of C. Working with a number of New Zealand-developed bloat control products, Olson formulated the Alfasure product for use in Canada.

Availability of an effective bloat control product opens a wide range of opportunities for Canadian beef producers who have either limited or avoided the use of forage legumes due to the high risk of animal losses from bloat.

Perennial legume crops such as alfalfa, clovers and others have long been regarded as productive and environmentally sound forages with great potential for livestock production, provided the risky bloat-issue could be managed.

Alfasure is an anti-foaming agent typically supplied to grazing livestock in their drinking water. The product works as a surfactant to destabilize foam in the rumen, enabling cattle to eliminate gas.

Product testing in recent years, backed by extensive on-farm grazing trial demonstrations in 2004 involving more than 7,000 head of cattle, shows Alfasure does work under a wide range of conditions.

“The studies showed mortality was less than one animal in 100,000 grazing days,” says Olson. “In all cases, except for one, losses were due to management issues. The bottom line is, if cattle get the product, they don’t bloat.”

Aside from the beef production standpoint, increased use of alfalfa and other perennial forages is also good for the environment. Demonstration of grazing alfalfa with the assistance of the bloat control product is partially funded by the federal Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture (GHGMP).

For more details see related stories on the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) Website at www.cattle.ca.  Click on the Stewardship section and follow the links to GHGMP.

Access to higher protein alfalfa pastures could reduce beef finishing times by as much as one month, he explains. Trials show steers grazing alfalfa were ready for a finishing feedlot 30 days sooner than cattle on grass. Reducing the length of time from birth to slaughter can reduce the amount of methane produced by cattle.

As well, because alfalfa is more digestible than other forages, if grazed at the proper time, it has the potential to reduce the amount of methane animals produce per pound of forage consumed.

The combined benefit is a shorter grazing period, which reduces rumen methane production.

Increasing reliance on alfalfa pastures may also help reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Alfalfa, like other plants, captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Some of this carbon is cycled through the animal during feeding. Some remains in the plant and root material, eventually adding to soil organic matter levels, a key indicator of the amount of carbon stored or “sequestered” in the soil.

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For more information contact:

Dr. Merle Olson
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alta.
Phone: (403) 202-2855

Pat Walker, Cattle Project Co-ordinator
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation program
Calgary, Alta.
Phone: (403) 601-8991