February 2019 CATTLE COUNTRY 11
Dual purpose value of perennial forage grain for food and feed focus of new study BY CRYSTAL CHAN AND CHRISTINE RAWLUK, National Centre for Livestock and the Environment, University of Manitoba
Crystal Chan is an undergraduate student at the U of M, completing her final semester of a B.Sc. with a major in Microbiology. She has been working as a Research Assistant with the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment since October 2018. In her short time with NCLE she has gained valuable insight into current research within Agriculture and its importance for producers, the public, and the environment. Combining her passion for science and her caring nature, she plans to pursue a career in medicine.
Maintaining beef cattle on pasture in the fall/winter season to reduce labour and feed costs is common practice in western Canada, however there are still many challenges associated with extended grazing strategies for stockpiled forage. Difficulty arises primarily in terms of nutritive value of pasture, which is often low and can negatively affect cattle performance. Emma McGeough and Doug Cattani at the University of Manitoba are leading a first-of-its kind study on the perennial grain intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) as a dual-purpose crop to provide both a cash food grain crop and high quality forage regrowth for grazing cattle into the late fall and early winter. “This is new territory,” acknowledges McGeough, assistant professor in sustainable grasslands/livestock production systems, Department of Animal Science. “This crop offers the possibility of growing both grain for human consumption and high quality forage for grazing in a single growing season on the same piece of land multiple years in a row from a single planting.” In recent years IWG has gained a lot of attention from food processors and consumers alike – particularly in the United States where it was developed – because of the novelty and environmental benefits associated with its being a perennial grain. “Yet IWG was initially brought into western Canada as forage to produce hay,” says Cattani, assistant professor in perennial crop breedIntermediate wheatgrass serves two key roles: cash food-grain crop as well as high-quality forage. (Supplied photo) ing, Department of Plant Science. Cattani has been selecting prairie-hardy IWG germplasm for consistent performance through a variety of weather conditions since joining the university in 2011. Over this time he has developed seed selected for proPictured at 9yrs of age, Still going ducing high quality grain protein and strong yields –seed strong at 12yrs old - Sons sell that will be used in this study. Agronomic research in Canada has shown IWG to be highly adaptable to the prairies, being able to withstand cold, drought and excess moisture, sometimes all in a single growing season. It also has the potential to provide a much needed high quality alternative forage for late fall/early winter grazing. Cattani’s preliminary analyses of forage regrowth nutritional quality indicate it might be suitable for meeting the requirements of a range of cattle classes. “This is especially important for classes of cattle such as backgrounders or bred heifers that have higher requirements than cows,” notes McGeough. This three-year project will encompass assessments of agronomic and cattle performance, grain and forage quality, environmental sustainability indicators such as enteric methane emissions, nitrogen and carbon cycling, ecosystem services in terms of songbird and nesting Page 13
MH TITAN 752
th
Our 12 Annual Sale!
FIND US ONLINE:
50 Black & Red Angus
Rugged 2-Yr Old Bulls Selling: March 9th, 2019-Ashern MB Moderate - Maternal - Easy Calving - Easy Fleshing
Facebook.com
Selling for the first time 20 bred heifers!! HOME-RAISED ANGUS & FLECKANGUS EDIE CREEK BRED HEIFERS
Jonathan Bouw: 204-471-4696
Stefan Bouw: 204-232-1620
twitter:@ediecreekangus @ManitobaBeef
mbbeef.ca
BREEDING BULLS for GRASS FARMERS www.mbbeef.ca