Producers, industry and government representatives and others attended the three-day Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) annual general meeting and conference at the Pomeroy Inn and Suites at Olds College last week.
Forage is a high-fibre product, including hay, silage, and pastures used by the livestock industry.
With the theme “Moving Forages Mainstream – The Challenges, Pitfall and Opportunities”, the December 9-11 conference was a good chance for producers to look to the future, CFGA chairman Doug Wray told the Gazette.
In several ways the challenges and opportunities facing the forage and grassland industry go hand in hand, he said.
“One of our main challenges is the shift in acreage in land use,” said Wray. “Given the high value of cash crops we are seeing producers on the land taking land out of forage production and put it into cash crop production. My neighbours are trying to grow as much canola as they can because that's the big paying crop.
“So we've seen a loss of forage acreage across the country. We have a declining cowherd in this nation and its support depends on a viable forage grassland industry as its feed source. One of our challenges is to point out the real value of that forage land.
“When we do that producers may rethink about some of the things they are doing. If they understood the true value of it we might see more of that grassland retained and managed to a higher level in order to capture that value.”
Both the beef and dairy industries tend to “somewhat take their forages for granted,” and that's something the forage industry needs to change, he said.
“There are so many other issues, like marketing and trade issues and regulatory issues that those industries tend to focus on. We are here saying, if you get the forage end of things right, other things will fall into place,” he said.
Among those attending the conference were representatives from numerous industry organizations, including the Alberta Forage Industry Network, the Australian Fodder Industry Association, and the American Forage and Grassland Associations.
There were also representatives from Alberta Agriculture, Mountain View County and various universities and colleges.
Keynote speakers at the conference included award winning agriculture journalist Laura Rance and research scientist Dr. Pascal Badiou. They both spoke at the plenary session on Dec. 10.
Rance said forage and grasslands “have a fundamental role to play” in food production and environmental sustainability.
“We know that perennial forage and perennial grassland production done well is one of the few things that we do in agriculture that actually builds soil,” said Rance. “Forages are something every farm should have. Every farm needs to have forage as part of its rotation.
“Forages and grasslands are the best and fastest ways of building organic matter into the soil. Adding organic matter reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Organic matter is key to holding water on the land.
“It should be government policy to encourage every farmer to put forages into their crop rotations. For almost every problem we face in conventional farming, forages can be part of the solution.”
Dr. Badiou spoke about the importance of wetlands and perennial forages and grasslands in protecting the environment by, for example, reducing flooding in rural areas by absorbing water runoff.
“I think this group (CFGA) should take advantage of official collaborations with conservation organizations,” said Badiou.
The conference included a road trip tour of several local facilities, as well as various workshops and panel discussions.
