AEGP Newsletter

REDBERRY LAKE WATERSHED AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP PLAN December 2011  If you have a project in mind, give me a call!  Well Decommissioning  Fencing  Riparian Buffers  Grass Seeding  Water Systems  Windbreaks  Calf Shelters  And many, many more!!!  Rachel:(306) 549 4060 or (306) 549 7473

The Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve Website has been Updated!!! Check it out at www.redberrylake.ca

How Much Nitrogen is Left After Bale Grazing?

Written by Glen Barclay Regional Forage Specialist Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Producers often ask how to estimate how much Nitrogen is left after bale grazing. The following example shows how this can be done.

Assumptions: Assume bales set at 40 feet apart. This works out to approximately 25 bales per acre.

Each bale results in bale residues and manure leaving behind a total of 23.25 lbs of Nitrogen per bale for next year’s growth or: 23.25 lbs of Nitrogen X 25 bales per acre = 581.25 lbs of Nitrogen per acre.

Also assume there is a five months pregnant 1,300 lb cow which consumes 27.5 lbs per day of dry matter and that she is eating brome-alfalfa hay containing 14.0 per cent crude protein (100 per cent Dry Matter).

Manure and Urine:

Did you know ? Between 2006 and 2011 $3.6 million has been invested into RLW projects with $1.8 million returned to the producer.

The cow excretes 0.56 lbs* of Nitrogen per day based on the 27.5 lbs of dry matter intake (31.6 lbs of hay). This value comes from the 11.13 lbs of manure and urine (100 per cent Dry Matter basis) she excretes per day.

If the bales are 1,300 lbs with

13 per cent moisture, the dry matter content is 1,131 lbs.

Ten per cent of this material is wasted and won’t be consumed. It will take 37 days for the cow to consume this bale at 27.5 lb per head per day (1,018 lbs / 27.5 lbs per day).

Nitrogen per Bale: The total Nitrogen from manure and urine after 37 days X 0.56 lbs of Nitrogen excreted per day is 20.72 lbs of Nitrogen 113.1 lbs of bale residue X 0.14 (14 per cent protein) X 0.16 (16 lbs of Nitrogen in 100 lbs of protein) equalling 2.53 lbs of Nitrogen Per bale this works out to 23.25 lbs of Nitrogen.

Note: Lower protein in the feed will produce less daily excreted Nitrogen in the manure and urine.

Not all of the 581.25 lbs of Nitrogen will be available to the forage stand the following

year. Some of the Nitrogen will be lost due to volatilization into the air and leaching into the soil. Some will be added to the soil’s bank of Nitrogen to be released at a later date. The percentages in each of these categories are variable. Weather plays a big role - the wetter and warmer the summer, the more Nitrogen will be released from the soil. Bale residues take time to break down as well. *Chapter 10 – Emissions from Livestock and Manure Management – 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories You can call Glenn Barclay at 446 – 7650 if you want assistance in estimating how much Nitrogen will be left on your fields after bale grazing.

Redberry Lake Watershed

Follow Up: Fall Workshop Written By Susanne Abe

TUESDAY JANUARY 10, 2012 RLW AEGP 5th ANNUAL WINTER WORKSHOP REAL RESULTS : The Benefits of Implementing Best Management Practices (BMP’s) on Your Farm. 

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Dr. Bart Lardner -Western Beef Development Center  Winter Management DUCs—Wetlands Karen Benjaminson -AAFC-AESB  Watershed Evaluation of BMP’s (WEBS) projects Sherrilyn Phelps –Saskatchewan Agriculture, Regional Crop Specialist  BMP’s For Clubroot Jeremy Brown, P.Ag - SWA  Putting It All Together CALL RACHEL TO REGISTER (306) 549 4060 or 549 7473

We had a great workshop on November 14 focused on wintermanagement. Twenty ranchers and specialists came to the Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve Research and Education Centre on the lake to learn about various fencing and watering options available for livestock. Jason Williams, of Vintag Services Ltd., explained how to achieve the best results from effective fencing systems and offered producers to practice some fencing techniques on a replica of a fence.

Jeremy Brown, of Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, showed different ways of livestock watering systems which are currently used by Saskatchewan’s livestock producers. He pinpointed best ways to avoid water contamination by livestock and soil erosion around the site and on the other hand to improve water quality for livestock and to protect wildlife habitat.

The workshop ended with a field trip visiting two farms. The participants were introduced to different examples on winter grazing techniques: oats and peas swath grazing as well as standing corn.

The Redberry Lake Watershed AgriEnvironmental Group Plan (AEGP) organizes various workshops addressing farmers and especially livestock producers.

Jason Williams and Daryl Walker

Integrated Pest Management for Invasive Plants Introducing BMP 1304— Integrated Pest Management for Invasive Plants  Scentless Chamomile

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 Leafy Spurge

The purpose is to assist producers in the control of invasive plants An integrated approach—mechanical, physical and biological Some of the invasive plants included are

Leafy Spurge, Scentless Chamomile, and Yellow Toadflax 

Invasive plants are a threat to cropland, and pastureland

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Eligible to be cost shared at 50 % to a max of $5,000

IF YOU HAVE INVASIVE SPECIES ON YOUR PROPERTY CONTACT RLW AEGP

Yellow Toadflax Do you need an extension letter for an unfinished project? Go to the PCAB website saskpcab.com for the form or call your AEGP tech.