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Forage F.A.Q.s |
What is Forage?
Forage consists of herbaceous plant parts fed to domestic animals (generally, the term refers to such material as pasture, hay, silage, haylage, and green chop). Forage crops generally include annual and perennial legumes and grasses. Forages contain significant portions of plant cell-wall material (cellulose) which humans and species with similar digestive tracts have very limited ability to digest. Forage eaters, however, have bacteria and other microbial populations in their digestive tracts that can partially digest these compounds into usable nutrients. This ability is extremely important since cellulose is one of the most abundant materials on earth. Forages, especially the perennial legumes and grasses, make a valuable contribution towards supplying food, conserving soil and water, and contributing to the control of pollution.
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What is the difference between Hay, Haylage and Silage?
Hay, haylage and silage can all consist of the entire herbage of forage plants, sometimes including seeds of grasses and legumes, that is harvested for livestock feed. The difference between these stored feeds relates to the moisture content at harvest time and in storage, and the amount of fermentation that takes place in storage. Management for minimum storage and feeding losses varies with these products as well.
Hay - is dry forage. Moisture content of hay at harvest should be 20% or less when harvested as 50 pound (22 kilogram) bales. Moisture content at harvest must be lower for larger size bales, otherwise deterioration (heating/mould growth) will occur within the bale. Final moisture content of quality hay in storage should be about 12% moisture.
Haylage - is the product resulting from harvesting forage when it contains about 35 to 45% moisture. This forage is placed in an air tight storage structure, often wrapped in plastic, where it goes through a limited fermentation process. The resulting haylage is slightly acid (pH of about 5). Oxygen must be kept out of this stored feed, or spoilage will quickly take place.
Silage - is the product resulting from harvesting forage when it contains about 65 to 70% moisture. This forage is placed in a storage structure, often a bunker or tower silo, packed and sealed to remove as much oxygen as possible. A fermentation process occurs and the resulting ensiled product becomes stable when the acid content gets to a pH of about 3.5 to 4.0. Oxygen must be kept out of this stored feed, or spoilage will quickly take place.
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What is the difference between Pasture and Range?
In both Pasture and Range, animals harvest the forage by grazing. The two differ in tenure and development.
Land tenure - Pasture is often deeded (privately owned), whereas, range is usually on crown land.
Land development - Pasture is usually seeded, whereas, range is normally natural unseeded stands.
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I want to grow forage for livestock feed. What should I grow?
What to grow is dependent upon your location and crop production potential, as well as the type (species, age, reproductive state, etc.) of the livestock for which you are growing the forage. It is also necessary to determine how the forage will be harvested - as hay, silage or pasture (i.e. grazed).
Crop production potential will depend upon your geographic location in the province (different crops are grown in the Lower Mainland, Southern Interior and Central and Northern Interior). Depending upon your location, irrigation may also be an important component of your crop production system.
Refer to regional recommendations within InfoBasket to get specific information for your area.
Once you have determined your crop potential based upon you location, need and availability of irrigation and the livestock that will be utilising the forage, your crop selection will be narrowed down to a few choices.
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What is good pasture for livestock? (beef, horses, llamas, ostriches, poultry)
Regardless of the animal species it is being grown for, good pasture has a number of key characteristics, including:
Generally, grasses meet more of these characteristics than legumes, however, legumes can be a valuable component of a pasture. The plant species selected will depend upon your geographic location, need and/or availability of irrigation, and the type of livestock you are pasturing.
One of the most adaptable pasture species for much of the southern parts of BC is orchardgrass, as it has many of the key characteristics listed above. Other species suitable for this area include tall fescue. In the south coastal area, perennial ryegrass is a useful plant. In the central and northern areas of BC, more winter hardy species, such as meadow and smooth bromegrass, creeping red fescue and bluegrass may be used. In the very dry areas of BC, drought tolerant species, such as crested wheatgrass or hard fescue are more suitable.
Legumes, such as alfalfa and clovers, add quality to the pasture mix, but are not as tolerant of grazing as the grasses, and may cause bloat in ruminants. Very high quality pasture, such as lush clover or alfalfa, may also cause laminitis, or founder, in horses. In addition, pasture for horses should not include alsike clover, as this plant can cause photosensitization and liver damage in horses.
One of the most suitable pasture species for horses is Kentucky bluegrass, as this sod forming plant is very tolerant of close grazing, and recovers well from skid marks and divots that often occur from horses.
For cattle and sheep, a pasture containing orchardgrass and white clover (75% grass, 25% clover) is very good where adequate moisture is available. In the colder and or drier regions, meadow bromegrass and alfalfa (also in 75:25 ratio) is more suitable.
Llamas do well on pastures suitable for either horses or cattle and sheep.
For ostriches and poultry, a higher quality pasture is required for good growth of the animals, so pastures containing a higher percentage of legumes (e.g. 75% clover or alfalfa 25% grass) is more suitable for their nutritional needs.
More information is available on InfoBasket in folders 1.1.3 Pasture, 1.2 Crop Choices and Varieties and 1.2.12 Crop Choices and Varieties - Pasture
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Can I graze alfalfa?
Yes, but with caution. Alfalfa can cause bloat in ruminants such as cattle and sheep. Non- ruminants, such as horses, do not bloat, but unrestricted access to high quality forage such as green alfalfa can cause founder, so horses also need to be managed carefully when grazing alfalfa.
Bloat in cattle and sheep can kill animals very quickly, as the foam prevents them from burping and releasing the gas that is a natural part of rumen activity. The expanding gas in the rumen presses on the lungs, preventing animals from breathing and they suffocate.
In order to reduce the risk of bloat when grazing alfalfa, a number of management techniques have been developed.
Management to reduce (not eliminate) bloat risk:
There are some products, (e.g. bloat guard), which can reduce bloat risk, but they are often not practical to administer, and it is difficult to ensure every animal obtains adequate intake.
Grazing alfalfa can be very productive, resulting in excellent animal performance (e.g. weight gain or milk production), however there is always some bloat risk.
More information is available on InfoBasket in folders: 1.3.1 Pasture Management and/or 1.3.5.3 Alfalfa Management
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Is there a problem growing forages after growing Ginseng?
There have been suggestions that forage grown after ginseng is harmful to livestock or that the forage won't grow on ginseng land. However, commercial ginseng gardens have been harvested in British Columbia since the mid-1980s and forage has been successfully grown afterwards on these sites and fed to livestock without incident.
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How can I find out what plants are damaging or poisonous to livestock?
Consult the following Internet sites:
or on InfoBasket in folder: 1.4.2 Plants Poisonous and Damaging to Livestock.
Consult the publications:
Contact your local veterinarian.
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What is Alsike Clover toxicity?
Alsike clover toxicity has very infrequently occurred in hogs, sheep, and cattle, but is most prevalent in horses. It usually occurs among animals on alsike pasture in bright, sunny weather, but some of the characteristic symptoms and lesions have been found in animals fed alsike hay. Two syndromes have been recognized: photosensitization* and a fatal syndrome known as alsike clover poisoning. Alsike clover is somewhat unpalatable to horses, so as other vegetation is overgrazed, the clover can become dominant. Signs include jaundice, neurological disturbances such as head-pressing and aimless walking, anorexia and loss of body condition. Animals exhibiting these signs usually die. Pathology includes a greatly enlarged liver, grey-brown or green-yellow in colour. There is pronounced fibrosis of the liver.
*Photosensitization is the circumstance where animals become hypersensitive to light. This is caused by phylloerythrin, a metabolite of chlorophyll. It is normally excreted in the bile, but in cases of liver damage, it enters the general circulation and causes skin lesions when it reacts with ultraviolet light.
For more information, please refer to the following BCMAL publication: Alsike Clover Toxicity in Horses.
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Where and how do I get my soil/forage tested?
Soil: For most forage crops a soil sample should be collected from 10 to 20 locations throughout the field being tested. Soil from the top fifteen to twenty centimeters (using soil corer or slice of soil with shovel) from each location should be collected in a clean bucket and mixed. Mix the soil thoroughly and collect a sample weighing about 500 grams. Soil samples should be kept cool. For more details on collecting and handling soil samples please refer to Folder 1.5 Soil & Water.
Forage: Hay samples are best collected with a hay probe. It is important to select bales at random throughout the lot of hay being tested and to take at least 20 core samples. For rectangular bales of all sizes, insert the hay probe 30 to 45 centimeters deep at a right angle into the center of the end of the bale. For round bales, the probe should be inserted at right angles to the outside circumference of the bales. Combine samples and submit for testing. Forage samples should be kept cool. For more details on collecting and handling forage samples please see Folder 1.6.1.2 Forage Quality - Lab Analysis of Forages.
The following labs are known to conduct soil testing for agricultural purposes. This is not a complete list of labs in BC.
MB Laboratories Ltd.
By Courier: 262 West Henry Avenue, Sidney, BC V8L 5Y1
By Mail: PO Box 2103, Sidney, BC V8L 3S6
Phone: (250) 656-1334
Web Site: http://www.mblabs.com
Pacific Soil Analysis
5-11720 Voyageur Way
Richmond, BC V6X 3G9
Phone: (604) 273-8226
Plant Science Lab (TerraLink Horticulture Inc.)
464 Riverside Road
Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M1
Phone: (604) 864-9044 or Toll Free: 1-800-661-4559
Web Site: http://www.terralink-horticulture.com
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How do I decide when to replant my hay fields?
If yields or feed quality are below your average, if desirable forage is unevenly distributed, if fields are too rough or if serious weed populations have developed, then it is time to renovate your field. However other field management might be considered prior to traditional tillage and replanting where uniform stands of forage are present. Many grasses will respond to a combination of aeration plus nitrogen fertilizer. Bromegrass or alfalfa can produce new plants following a light spring disking. Soil test prior to renovation to determine if reduced yields or reduced legume content is caused by a nutrient deficiency.
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When and how much manure can I spread on my hay/grain fields?
The amount of manure applied should be based on the nutrient requirements of the crop, the existing level of nutrients in the soil and the nutrient concentration of the manure.
Early spring incorporation of manure directly into the soil prior to planting or into established forages is the most efficient means of capturing the nutrients in the manure.
For more detailed information on manure application rates and timing please refer to the Infobasket Folder 1.5 Soil & Water.
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How long should I wait before grazing after fertilizer or herbicide application?
Fertilizers - To determine the waiting period after fertilizer application before harvesting or grazing, you need to consider:
Generally, it is recommended to wait for rainfall or after irrigation to wash fertilizer off the foliage and into the soil, before allowing livestock to graze. Also, if growing conditions are poor (e.g. cool, cloudy, dry conditions) after fertilizer application, there can be accumulation of nitrate in forage, which can be toxic to livestock. In this case, it is important to wait until good growing conditions return to allow the forage plants to convert the nitrate to plant protein.
Herbicides - To determine the waiting period after herbicide application before harvesting forage or allowing livestock to graze, it is important to follow directions on the herbicide label. Some herbicides however, do not have information regarding grazing restrictions on the label. In such cases a general recommendation would be to wait one week after treatment, before harvest or grazing.
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Are there standards for hay quality or is there a hay grading system?
There are no hay quality grading systems in British Columbia. Most hay is fed to livestock, therefore, the animal's requirements are often used as a measure of hay quality.
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How do I market my hay?
In British Columbia, hay growers generally market their hay directly to livestock owners through private sales. Identifying your potential customers and type of hay they want is the first step to successful marketing. Please refer to Folder C (Marketing and Research) for more information on marketing hay.
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Where can I get information on alfalfa varieties?
BC alfalfa variety recommendations and disease ratings are located on our website at http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/alfalfadis.htm
More detailed variety descriptions are displayed on the Alberta Agriculture website at http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/app95/seedinginfo
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How much is hay worth ($)?
Hay costs a minimum of $40 per ton to produce. The final price depends on how much hay is available at the time, the quality of the hay, the package size and how far it has been transported. High quality, small square bales are the most expensive.
Traditional values in BC are approximately $150 to $200 per ton at the Coast; $80 to $120 per ton in the Interior and $40 to $60 per ton in the Peace River area.
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Are there any Forage associations in British Columbia?
Yes, there is the BC Forage Council
Contact: c/o Nancy Portman
BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
162 Oriole Road
Kamloops, BC V2C 4N7
Toll Free: 1-888-823-3355
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Can I get Crop Insurance on Forages?
Yes. Go to this website for more details: http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/production%5Finsurance/index.htm
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What are the restrictions when transporting hay?
Movement of hay on a public road, the truck/wagon is a commercial vehicle and is regulated as such. If hay load
stays under 2.6 m (8'6") wide and a height of less than 4.15 m (13'7"), then no permits are required and there are no extra restrictions.
Square bales up to a width of 3.05 m (10') and round bales up to a width of 3.5m (11'6") can be hauled with a permit during daylight hours but not on Sunday or statutory holidays.
The Weed Control Act disallows the movement of any hay that is likely to contain noxious weed seeds.
For complete information contact your local inspection station (formerly known as weigh scale), or provincial inspection station 1-800-559-9688 or view their web site at http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/cvse/
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How do I get farm classification?
Farm classification is a voluntary process obtained from the BC Assessment Authority. Complete information can be found at: http://bcassessment.gov.bc.ca/process/agricultural_forestry/index.asp
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