Trial Site: Fairview Research Farm
Research Coordinator: Dr. Akim Omokanye
From: Peace Country Beef & Forage Association 2017 Annual Report
Winter feed costs typically represent the largest portion of cow/calf expenses. In the Peace, oats and barley are the two most commonly used cool season cereals in beef cattle production. They are grown for greenfeed, swath grazing, pastures and silage, and very recently, they are being included in cocktail mixtures. This year (2017), PCBFA tested several barley and oat varieties commonly grown in the Peace for greenfeed/silage against 4 soft white wheat varieties and bunker triticale. There is a lot more soft white wheat being used for silage in central/southern Alberta as it handles stresses better than barley and stands better. The down side is that harvest of soft white wheat is quite a bit later than traditional barley silage, but producers have reported 25-50% higher yields from soft white wheat grown for silage in those areas.
Objectives
1. To assess forage yield and quality of common oat and barley varieties in parts of the Peace with newly registered varieties, which have been used as checks.