An on-line tool has taken some of the guess work out of forage establishment costs.
The Forage Species Adaptation CD and Seeding Rate Calculator allows Saskatchewan forage producers to identify the forage species best suited to their growing area.
It also calculates the costs of seeding pure or blended forage stands and offers detailed information on species characteristics, crop origins, stand longevity, yield potential, nutritional value, competiveness and winter hardiness.
High speed and dial-up internet users can access the tool on-line at www.saskforage.ca/joomla. Scroll down to the Forage Selection Tool link.
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Producers can acquire a CD by contacting the Saskatchewan Forage Council at office@saskforage.ca.
Leanne Thompson, project co-ordinator with the council, said the selection tool and seeding rate calculator outlines cropping options and answers many of the questions that arise when producers are preparing to seed a new forage stand.
To use the program, producers are prompted to enter basic information such as soil type, soil characteristics and intended forage uses.
Current seed costs must be entered manually by the producer when using the seed calculator.
“It’s a quick and easy way to have a look at some of your options,” said Thompson, who demonstrated the program to beef producers at the 2009 Saskatchewan Pasture School held June 17-18 in Saskatoon.
“But we always tell producers to make sure you’re using this as a guide. It can be a very useful tool to find out what you can seed on your farm, but I would not depend on this as the be all and end all.”
Helpful to agrologists
Forage council executive director Janice Bruynooghe said the computer-based forage selector was born out of necessity.
Before the CD and on-line selector were developed, council agrologists lacked a comprehensive tool that they could use to answer producers’ questions about forage crop selection.
To address the need, the council secured funding through Agriculture Canada’s Greencover Program and called on experts from Saskatchewan Agriculture, Agriculture Canada, Ducks Unlimited and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance.
“Before we developed (the program), we searched far and wide to see if there was a tool like this available,” Bru-ynooghe said. “There were versions like it but nothing specifically (for Saskatchewan forage growers).”
Producer feedback has been positive, she added. When the CD was released, council staff received requests from producers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, the United States and South America.
