40 The Business of Prairie Agriculture Better Farming | November/December 2023 When there is less than average moisture in the spring, perennial forage yield can be variable or lower than expected. This has been the case in some parts of Western Canada in the last number of years. To reduce the impact of potential feed shortages, producers have been seeding annual cereal crops for green feed. If there is more moisture during the growing season, the annual crop can be harvested for grain as long as it matures before fall frost. The choice of crop and variety to seed can be limited to what is easily available at the time or what the producer has on hand. Starting in 2020, Wheatland Conservation Area led a project to evaluate and compare commonly grown and available varieties of barley, oats, wheat, triticale and some mixtures for forage yield and quality, along with newer crop varieties for their potential as annual forages. The project was funded through the Government of Saskatchewan’s Strategic Field Program. The locations for this project were Swift Current, Clavet, Redvers and Prince Albert, Sask. These locations were chosen because they are near cattle producing areas and in a range of soil zones. The trial was repeated in the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons at all locations. The varieties and mixtures looked at were the following: Results Several feed quality measurements were taken as part of the project but only the dry matter yields and growth characteristics for each crop and mixCutting crop for green feed. Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture photo LOOKING AT ANNUAL FORAGE VARIETIES Learn to choose the best variety for your region. By Shannon Chant & Amber Wall Ag Insights Barley AB Advantagea (check) CDC Mavericka AAC Synergyb CDC Bowb CDC Fraserb CDC Cowboya Oats CDC Haymakera (check) Ore3542Mb CDC SO-1a CS Camdenb CDC Ruffianb Wheat AAC Innovaa (check) CDC Plentifulb Sadashb Pasteurb Triticale Tazaa (check) Bunkera Pronghorna Mixtures CDC Haymakerb (check) KWS ProPowera (hybrid fall rye) + CDC Balera CDC Austensona + CDC Haymakera CDC Haymakera + CDC Horizona (pea) CDC Haymakera + CDC Horizona + Gorillaa forage rape CDC Arborga+ CDC Mavericka Table 1. athese are forage and/or feed grain varieties. bthese are grain (malt or food for barley) varieties. Cereal varieties and crop mixtures in the study.
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