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Soil health & forage productivity in Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Operation

 

Project Details

  • Project Lead: Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives

  • Collaborators: Mae Elsinger (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

  • Years: 2022 - present

  • Project Status: Ongoing

  • Funding & In-Kind Support: Canadian Agricultural Partnership

  • Location: Brookdale Farm, Johnson Farm, First Street Pasture

  • Scope: Case Study

  • Keywords: Soil Health, Annual Forages, Intercropping, Perennial Forages, Grazing Management, Weed Management

Approach

Several sites were chosen to examine soil and plant health indicators, covering different soil types and different land uses. Long-term monitoring of these sites will provide benchmark data for the farm in relation to soil type and land use.

Key Findings

Soil Health:

  • Sites at Brookdale Farm have higher organic matter compared to the Johnson Farm and First Street Pasture sites.

  • Pastures with perennial forage generally have higher organic matter than annual fields.

  • Perennial pastures that had been managed as a continuous pasture from 2015-2021 had lower quality soil than perennial pastures that were managed under a rotational planned grazing for the same period.

Plant Health:

  • Total biomass is higher for both perennial and annual sites at the Brookdale Farm when compared to the Johnson Farm and First Street Pasture

  • Higher legume content in pastures at the Brookdale Farm contributes to higher crude protein in these forages.

  • Leafy spurge is more abundant in the southern pastures of First Street Pasture.

The first round of sampling occurred in 2022. Long-term trends due to management will require further years for sampling.

This topic was published January 30, 2023 and revised April 4, 2023.