Our 2026 Projects
PCBFA conducts a series of research trials, recommended by local producers and industry leaders. The objectives of each project surround evaluating forage production, impacts on soil health, and crop performance in the Peace Region. Key projects include testing soil amendments, biostimulants, assessing crop varieties, exploring silvopasture benefits, and studying innovative approaches like ultra-early winter cereal seeding, pasture rejuvenation and more.
Forages
Grazing & Pasture
Cereals
Cover Crops
Peace Region Living Lab
We sincerely thank all of our funders and partners for helping make these projects possible and supporting meaningful change in agriculture. We truly appreciate your support.
Forages
Project: Longevity and Ecosystem Services of Perennial Forage Stands
Location: MD of Fairview, Fairview Research Farm &
MD of Greenview, DeBolt
Scale: Small Plots
Duration: 2024 - 2026
Objective: To determine the dry matter yield, nutritional
quality and persistence of perennial forage mixtures,
monoculture grasses and legume.
Funders & Collaborator: : Funded through the Rangeland Sustainability Program
Project: Liming Effects on Forage Sustainability and Economics
Location: County of Grande Prairie, Sexsmith
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2024 - 2026
Objective: To determine the agronomic impact of
various liming products on a low pH legume-dominated
pastureland and to assess the economic benefits of
using lime over a three-year period
Funders & Collaborator: Funded through the Rangeland Sustainability Program
Project: Sod Seeding of Legumes to Improve Forage Production, Forage Quality and Soil Benefits
Location: MD of Peace, Brownvale
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2023 - 2026
Objective: Evaluate the effect of introducing legumes
into a degraded and grass-dominated pasture on forage
yield, quality, and persistence while improving soil health
and boosting agroecosystem services.
Funders & Collaborator:
Project: Assessing the potential of a new forage wheat variety in forage production systems in the Peace Region
Location: MD of Fairview, Fairview Research Farm
Scale: Small Plots
Duration: 2025 - 2026
Objective: To evaluate the forage dry matter yield,
nutritional value, and other agronomic indicators of
Nutrien Ag’s newly released forage wheat variety
against commonly used silage varieties and blends
in the Peace.
Funders & Collaborator:
Project: Field Scale Evaluation of Hayland Rejuvenation Methods
Location: Saddle Hills County, Ksituan
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2023 - 2026
Objective: To investigate practical and cost effective
perennial stand rejuvenation methods on hayland.
Funders & Collaborators:
Project: Rejuvenation of Saline Soils with Saline Tolerant Forages
Location: MD of Peace, Brownvale
Scale: Small Plots
Duration: 2024 - 2027
Objective: To evaluate the effect of five saline tolerant
forage treatments on forage biomass, quality,
composition, persistence, weed suppression,
soil carbon and nitrogen and soil fertility.
Funders & Collaborators:
Grazing & Pasture
Project: Forage Production & Ecosystem Services of Silvopastures
Location: Big Lakes County, High Prairie
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2024 - 2026
Objective: To evaluate the effects of three silvopasture
systems on forage dry matter yield and quality, livestock
performance and soil health indicators.
Funders & Collaborators: Funded through the Rangeland Sustainability Program
Project: Fieldscale Evaluation of Pasture Rejuvenation Methods
Location: Saddle Hills County, Bonanza
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2023 - 2026
Objective: To investigate practical and cost effective
perennial stand rejuvenation methods on pastureland.
Funders & Collaborators:
Project: Enhancing Corn Grazing Systems Using Drone-Seeded Cover Crop Cocktails for Improved Soil Health and Grazing Productivity
Location: County of Grande Prairie, Teepee Creek
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2026
Objective: To assess, under on-farm conditions,
whether integrating drone-seeded cover crop
mixtures into corn grazing systems can improve
forage production and nutritive value for beef producers.
Funders & Collaborators:
Project: Rejuvenating Rangelands with Plant Biostimulants
Location: Clear Hills County
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2026 - 2028
Objective: The overall goal of this project is to
evaluate the merits of Plant Biostimulant products in
rejuvenating depleted forage stands, using a systems
approach that integrates agronomic, ecological and
socio-economic data to generate practical, economic
and science-based recommendations to support sustainable forage stand rejuvenation on rangelands.
Funders & Collaborators: Funded through the Rangeland Sustainability Program
Cereals
Project: Evaluation of Early Seeded Multiple-Cut Winter
Cereals for Livestock Feed as a Drought Management
Strategy in Alberta
Location: MD of Fairview, Fairview Research Farm
Scale: Small Plots
Duration: 2024 - 2026
Objective: To evaluate the establishment, forage yield,
and nutritional quality of winter cereals seeded at different
spring soil temperatures for livestock feed production in Alberta under simulated grazing conditions.
Funders & Collaborators:
Project: Alberta Cereal Silage Variety Testing Project
– “The Need for Feed 2.0”
Location: MD of Fairview, Fairview Research Farm
Scale: Small Plots
Duration: 2025 - 2027
Objective: To evaluate the yield, feed quality, disease
and lodging resistance of silage crop varieties under
Peace Region growing conditions.
Funders & Collaborators:
Project: Intercropping of Legumes in Cereal Cash Crops
to Improve Yield and Quality, and Provide Soil Health Benefits
Location: County of Grande Prairie, Rio Grande
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2026
Objective: To monitor the establishment of
crimson-clover companion crop and its effect on
barley yield and grain quality.
Funders & Collaborators:
Project: Limagrain Pea Variety Trial
Location: MD of Fairview, Fairview Research Farm
Scale: Small Plots
Duration: 2026
Objective: Evaluate the agronomic performance of
36 new Field Pea lines and varieties under Peace Region
conditions.
Funders & Collaborators:
Cover Crops
Project: Warm-Season Grasses in Cover Crop Polyculture Mixes: Enhancing Resilience in Forage Cropping Systems
Location: MD of Fairview, Fairview Research Farm
Scale: Small Plots
Duration: 2025 - 2028
Objective: To evaluate the merits of sorghum based
polyculture systems on forage yield, nutritional quality,
botanical composition, anti-nutritional factors,
water-use efficiency and short-term soil health responses in two agroecological regions of Alberta
Funders & Collaborators:
Project: An Integrated Systems Assessment of Producer-Developed Cover Crop Cocktail Blends in the Peace Region
Location: Clear Hills County, Eureka River
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2026
Objective: To assess and showcase performance and
provide insights for other producers on the agronomic
performance of a producer-developed multi-species
cover crop cocktail (CCC) blend compared with conventional
cereal monoculture for beef production systems.
Funders & Collaborators:
Peace Region Living Lab
Project: Enhancing Agroecosystem Services in the Peace Region
Location: MD of Fairview: Fairview & Bluesky
MD of Peace: Brownvale
Saddle Hills County: Fourth Creek, Savanna
& Baytree
County of Grande Prairie: Goodfare, La Glace
& Teepee Creek
Clear Hills County: Hines Creek
Scale: Field Scale
Duration: 2022 - 2026
Objective: To design and test beneficial onfarm practices and technologies which reduce Green House gas emissions and enhance Carbon sequestration
Funders & Collaborators:
Project: Effect of Plant Biostimulants on Crop Production
and Soil Health
Location: MD of Fairview, Fairview Research Farm
Scale: Small Plots
Duration: 2023 - 2026
Objective: To evaluate the benefits of different
commercial plant biostimulants & soil amendments
on crop yield and quality and on soil health in
canola-wheat rotations
Funders & Collaborators:
Do You Have A Project Suggestion?
Feel free to share your suggestions and ideas for our upcoming projects. We value your feedback and look forward to hearing from you.