2022 Virtual Beef and Forage Research Forum held March 4

The 2022 Beef and Forage Research Forum will be held virtually on Friday, March 4th at 8:30 a.m. The Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association is pleased to work with the University of Saskatchewan, the Government of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in order to connect producers with researchers as they discuss research ideas and projcts that will lead to better forages, healthier animals, and increased profitability.

“We get the best results from research projects when researchers can describe their skills and ideas, and when producers describe what problems are holding them back,” said SCA Research Committee Chair Roger Meyers. “In past years, we’ve heard producers illustrate their challenges, and then later notice projects from researchers responding to these challenges. On the other side, we’ve seen presentations from researchers describe what they want to do, and then had some great suggestions from the crowd about ways to make that project more successful. That can happen by adding more researchers with different skills, changing their approach to match common practices on the farms or ranches throughout the province, or even adding more research locations so that different soils and climate patterns are considered. Even adding more or different crop varieties can make a real difference to a project.”

The SCA funds research projects with the levies paid by Saskatchewan cattle producers. The organization works with partners to fund projects, including the Government of Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, the Beef Cattle Research Council, and the Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission, among others. As a result of these funding partnerships, the SCA leverages producer funding to create a larger pool of money for projects. For each dollar the SCA spends on research, another five dollars are spent by a partner organization.

These partnerships have also helped to form the new Integrated Forage Management and Utilization Chair at the University of Saskatchewan, which will help to bridge rumen nutritional needs with forage agronomy and forage plant breeding. “We want more ability to plant highly productive forage stands in Saskatchewan, but it’s important that our cattle will get a lot of use from those stands,” noted SCA Chair Arnold Balicki. “Knowing the nutritional value as well as how forage species can be planted together, fertilized, grazed, and whether that changes throughout the province ensures our research is practical and productive.”

The Forum will be an opportunity for beef and forage producers to provide more ideas regarding future research projects they would like to see from the future Integrated Forage Management and Utilization Chair, as well as researchers throughout Western Canada. The deadline for research projects submitted to the Government of Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund is April 15th.

Registration for the virtual 2022 Beef and Forage Research

Forum can be found here: https://usask-ca.zoom.us/meeting/ register/tJ0ocuGtqj8oG9dLYiCHXEXHRneldPZWq_dc