Field-Tested Forages
Nutrien Ag Solutions ® Salinity Projects
Discovery Farm Langham Salinity Project
In 2020 at Discovery Farm Langham , a team from Nutrien Ag Solutions working in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada , started a multi-year perennial forage project looking at salinity management . Working with a two-acre piece of saline field , the team is growing Halo 2 alfalfa , AC Saltlander Green Wheatgrass and Salinemaster . While the 2022 growing season was dry , the combination of improved moisture and balanced nutrition from fertilization resulted in significantly increased production , with 75 small square bales harvested in 2022 compared to 27 in 2021 . More information on results of this project can be found at www . discoveryfarm . ca .
Watrous Salinity Project
To better understand the tolerance and success of forages in a saline environment , a range of forage species and blends as well as canola and barley were seeded on a saline slope at the Nutrien Ag Solutions Watrous research farm . The objective is to gain a better understanding of which species tolerate severe salinity , and also which are most productive and have the longest longevity . Already , it can be seen that species such as AC Saltlander Green Wheatgrass and Halo alfalfa can be very productive on soil on which neither canola nor barley can grow .
Saline slope used for Watrous salinity project .
Westlock Annual Forage Trial
There are benefits of an annual forage stand in a rotation . With the help of a grower partner and the team from the Nutrien Ag Solutions retail , an annual forage trial was planted just outside Westlock , AB .
Annual forages provide a plentiful , nutritional source of feed for cattle with multi-use feed options such as silage or late season grazing . Legumes in the blend increase the protein content and feed value .
“ The trial this year I would deem as a huge success ," said Dean , the grower who participated in the trial .
" Trying annual forages has opened up doors on my farm and is a practice I plan to use again next year . Not only was there good silage tonnage , we also had regrowth out there my cows will graze on . After trying it this year , I look forward to trying all sorts of new annual mixes in the future .”
YIELD RESULTS
8.24 MT / ac Barley straight 11.41 MT / ac Annualmaster with barley 9.7 MT / ac Cowboymaster
22