Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
SARDA Ag Research held its annual forage crop tour on July 15 in the Smoky River Region.
The tour showed four different forage crops and speakers explained best practices to ensure crops grow thick and without bug or pest interference.
The crop tour began at the SARDA Ag Research main shop on Highway 2 outside of Donnelly, showing some of the trial crops that were planted to observe with different variables to determine best practices.
“Ideally, if you’re serious about growing a grass seed crop and you want a high yielding, high quality stand, spend a couple years picking a field and cleaning it up of weeds,” says forage seed specialist Calvin Yoder.
“Get your land ready before establishing a grass seed.”
Yoder says the best methodology for planting grass seed is to seed it on its own, but there are some varieties and species that can be under sown in other crops.
Over 40 people attended the crop tour to learn about best chemicals to apply to their forage crops to control weeds and pests. The tour provided information on best practices in choosing fields, best seeding methodologies, and fertilizer application.
“We tour different sites from SARDA’s work to see how our trials can impact what is being done and what can be adopted by producers,” says SARDA’s executive director Vance Yaremko.
“We evaluate different methodologies that producers can use to help improve or alter what they are currently doing on their farms.”
Producer crops visited included crested wheat grass outside of Girouxville, and timothy, alsike clover, and brome grass crops in Whitemud.
The next crop tours hosted by SARDA Ag Research will include a Field Day on July 24 in Debolt from 9 a.m. until noon, with Belinda DeSmet speaking about pests that are prevalent this year, Rajeev Dhakal talking about lupins, Ramchandra Neupane talking about Li-COR nitrous oxide/H2O trace gas analyzers, and J.P. Pettyjohn talking about soil structure and discussing variances in Peace Region.
Aug. 6 will welcome Alberta Crop Diagnostic Days to the SARDA Ag Research shop in Donnelly. Topics will include grasshopper identification and thresholds, pulse fungicide timing, know your soils, industrial hemp, canola disease, and a Smoky Hemp Decortication Plant tour.
For more information about either day, please visit SARDA’s website at www.sarda.ca or phone (780) 837-2900.
