There aren’t many similarities between cattle and ducks, but they often live in close proximity.
Improving the environment for one can benefit the other.
For that reason the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Ducks Unlimited and the North American Wetlands Conservation Council signed an agreement last week that will see them work more closely together.
CCA president David Andrews said it’s a case of formalizing a long held relationship.
“We already know that we have much in common. Individual cattle producers have been supporting wildlife conservation by working co-operatively with these two organizations for a long time.”
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The groups already have a project on the go. Pasture on land managed by Ducks Unlimited north of Brandon, Man. has been seeded to native and exotic grasses.
The terrain is hummocky and includes many potholes and sloughs ducks love.
Pasture production will be monitored under fertilized and unfertilized conditions.
The study will keep track of how much carbon is building up in the soil in the fertilized pastures. The build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is linked by many scientists to global warming. If carbon, in the form of organic matter, builds up in the soil, there is less in the air.
Carbon stored
A study in Saskatchewan looking at pastures reseeded to exotic forages showed they could store between 3.2 and 12 tonnes of carbon per acre.
Given that there are 17.4 million acres of pasture and forage land in Western Canada, there is potential to store between 55 million and 210 million tonnes of carbon in the soil.
The two groups are also co-operating in developing fact sheets for managing range in various ecological zones.
The relationship between wildlife requirements and sound range management will be emphasized.
