Can under-seeding spring cereals for silage with annual rye grass provide an extended fall grazing option for Alberta producers?

Coordinating agronomist: Alyssa Krawchuk
Organization: Lakeland Agricultural Research Association
Practice: Rotational grazing
Trial started: Spring 2027

Barrier: The dry conditions in the Lakeland region of Alberta has led to reduced feed sources and overgrazed pastures. Since overgrazed pastures may produce less the following year and require additional management strategies (including reduced grazing days) to ensure long-term pasture viability, this project examines two extended fall grazing options to potentially address this.

Description: This randomized strip trial with four replications will compare two spring-seeded treatments: 1) soft white spring wheat only, silage harvested, stubble grazed and 2) soft white spring wheat under-seeded with Italian ryegrass, silage harvested, stubble grazed to measure the potential that under-seeding Italian ryegrass into a silage ration may have as an extended fall grazing option. Biomass, forage quality, and regrowth the following spring will be assessed and economic analysis will be performed.

Does incorporation of cattle impact improve legume establishment in pasture rejuvenation efforts when drone seeding?

Coordinating agronomist: Alyssa Krawchuk
Organization: Lakeland Agricultural Research Association
Practice: Rotational grazing
Trial started: Spring 2026

Barrier: Pasture rejuvenation in remote locations where mechanical equipment cannot be used can be difficult, leading to reduced forage stand and quality (particularly for legume species), as well as fewer grazing days. While drones offer a new opportunity, the lack of incorporation (to maximize seed to soil contact) with this seeding method is thought to cause low establishment rates. As cattle hoof traffic is an easy incorporation method which eliminates the need for mechanical equipment, this project investigates the effectiveness of hoof traffic when rejuvenating remote perennial pastures in a rotational grazing system.

Description: A randomized strip trial with four replications will compare four treatments: 1) non-improved control, 2) drone seeded, no incorporation, 3) drone-seeded, harrowed, and 4) drone seeded, hoof traffic (stock density of initial graze will be 150,000 lbs/acre). A pre-inoculated legume blend, including creeping red fescue, tap rooted alfalfa, branch rooted alfalfa, falcata alfalfa, sainfoin, cicer milkvetch, red clover, chicory, birdsfoot trefoil, and sweet clover will be seeded at 10 lbs/acre. Following emergence, the trial will be grazed for proper forage establishment. Emergence, establishment, grazing events, and biomass will be measured/recorded and quality and economic analyses will be conducted.

Evaluating virtual fencing as a tool for optimizing rotational grazing

Coordinating agronomist: Mélanie Perreault Gagnon
Organization: Agrinova
Practice: Rotational grazing
Trial started: Spring 2026

Barrier: Rotational grazing can improve pasture productivity and land use, but the time, labour, costs, and infrastructure required to install, move, and maintain physical fencing can limit its adoption or intensification. Virtual fencing may address some of these challenges, while also allowing more flexible, responsive grazing rotations that adapt to forage growth and changing conditions. However, producers lack regional, commercial-scale evidence on whether the technology can effectively control cattle movements, maintain pasture and animal performance, reduce management time, and provide a financially viable alternative to physical fencing.

Description: A field trial on a commercial beef farm in Centre-du-Québec will compare three approaches to rotational grazing: 1) a herd managed using physical fences under a more rigid rotation system of approximately five days per paddock; 2) a herd equipped with GPS-enabled collars, allowing for adaptive management and more frequent movements; and 3) a theoretical scenario estimating the labour required to achieve the same adaptive management moving physical fencing. Measurements and observations will include forage biomass, quality and utilization, animal behaviour and adaptation, management time, technical issues, and economics analysis performed. The results will be used to assess the profitability and feasibility of virtual fencing, as well as its agronomic impacts.

Sulfur fertilization and overseeding to maximize symbiotic nitrogen fixation in pastures

Coordinating agronomist: Frédérique Lavallée
Organization: Écoboeuf
Practice: Nitrogen management, Rotational grazing
Trial started: Spring 2026

Barrier: Mixed legume-grass pastures are the norm for many beef producers and can supply nitrogen through symbiotic fixation. However, sulfur deficiencies can reduce legume vigour, resulting in declining pasture productivity, leading more producers to consider synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. Although synthetic nitrogen can increase forage yield, it carries economic and environmental costs and can further reduce legume content in mixed stands. Producers lack regionally relevant, commercial-scale evidence that sulfur fertilization combined with legume overseeding can sustain pasture productivity and reduce reliance on synthetic nitrogen.

Description: A randomized field trial on a commercial beef farm in Quebec’s Clay Belt region will evaluate whether sulfur fertilization can improve legume establishment, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, and forage productivity under rotational grazing. Overseeded pasture plots will receive either potassium sulfate, a fast-release sulfur source; lower-cost, slow-release elemental sulfur; or no sulfur fertilizer. Legume establishment, composition, forage yield and quality, and treatment economics will be assessed to determine whether correcting sulfur deficiencies can help mixed pastures provide a practical and economically viable alternative to synthetic nitrogen fertilization.

An economic comparison of different extended grazing strategies

Coordinating agronomists: Serge Pageau and Émilie Blondeau
Organization: Conseil québécois des plantes fourragères
Practices: Cover crops, rotational grazing
Trial started: Fall 2025

Barrier: There is limited local economic and agronomic data to guide farmers on strategies to effectively extend the fall grazing season while reducing labour and feeding costs. Without comprehensive comparisons to conventional confined hay feeding, farmers lack the support needed to make informed decisions about integrating beneficial management practices like grazing cover crops.

Description: This trial compares three late-fall grazing strategies in a cattle operation: stockpiled forage, standing cover crops, and bale grazing on pasture. Forage yield and quality, dry matter intake, and labour requirements will be recorded. The economics of these extended grazing systems will be compared with the established costs and labour associated with the industry-standard practice of feeding stored forage in confinement. Results will help farmers evaluate whether these strategies can improve cost-efficiency and reduce labour, while delivering environmental benefits.