The Foothills Forage and Grazing Association (FFGA) recently held a workshop titled ‘Soil Health: The Bottom Lines' at the Carstairs Community Hall.
Nicole Masters, from the New Zealand-based consulting firm Integrity Soils led the event, starting with a classroom session in the morning and then a field demonstration in the afternoon.
"She talks a bit about how to get the max yield from your land, how you can reduce your costs while increasing your production and basically telling you if your soil is healthy or not and the different indicators," said Rachel McLean, environmental and communications coordinator for the FFGA.
Other topics Masters covered included: microbiology, sunlight capture, the carbon cycle and indicators of soil health.
McLean said 134 people attended the workshop. The big question on their minds was how to increase soil productivity without using commercial fertilizers and pesticides.
She added Masters talked about using dead plant material, the importance of worms and feeding soil microbes.
Based in Okotoks, the FFGA is a non-profit organization driven by producers. The group is an information hub for producers, working with government and industry to keep them informed on innovation in the industry.
"We talk about ways for producers to profitably and sustainably regenerate their forages," McLean said.
The FFGA is also working on several projects, including one testing the viability of using stem mining weevils to control Canada Thistle. The insect was introduced to Canada in 1965 and eats the weed.
The FFGA project seeks to determine if native populations can be established in Alberta, whether it's a cost-effective method of pest control and if more weevils need to be added to a site in consecutive years.
Another is a grazing trial using a mixture of sanfoin, alfalfa and grass. The goal is to help producers reap the benefits of including more legumes in their pastures, without the associated bloating.
"So it means the cattle can eat it and ... they're supposed to not have the bloat issues of normal alfalfa and other legumes," she said.
"She talks a bit about how to get the max yield from your land, how you can reduce your costs while increasing your production and basically telling you if your soil is healthy or not and the different indicators." RACHEL MCLEAN environmental and communications coordinator for the FFGA.
