Perhaps those who didn’t show up at the annual Emo Agricultural Research Station open house on Monday were as much of a indicator on the state of agriculture in the district as those who did.
The yearly event traditionally draws interested parties from throughout the Rainy River District, but this time, only about two dozen people showed up.
However, station manager Kim-Jo Bliss was not disappointed. The no-shows were busy haying, which was a healthy sign for agriculture in the district. The cool spring and late advent of summer meant many activities—including the cutting of the first hay crop—have been pushed back nearly three weeks.
Nonetheless, those who turn out were taken on a tour of the facility, which is operated jointly by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) and the University of Guelph.
One thing everyone noticed was how far behind many of the crops were— which also explained why there were not more people there.
“This is the latest alfalfa bloom I’ve ever seen in all the years I’ve been here,” noted Bliss, who has been working at the facility in some capacity since 1987.
The number and variety of forage crops and legumes being studied is impressive. Bliss said there are no less than 43 barley performance trials alone underway, as well as spring wheat, soybeans, forage sorghum, alfalfa, several clovers, canola, yellow mustard, oats, buckwheat, and flax. Most are somewhat behind where they would normally tend to be at this time of year, all are thriving.
One of the new additions this year is a variety of clover called kura. Special guest this year, Jack Kyle, a grazier and forage crop specialist with OMAF, expressed considerable optimism for the future of that particular crop.
“I think there is for kura clover if you give it a chance to re-seed itself,” Kyle predicted. “Once it gets going, it will compete with everything,” he added.
Kyle also made some recommendations regarding forage selection, based on climate and soil quality.
“Sweet clover is a better choice for compacted soil,” he noted. “Annual grasses tend to have a shallow, fibrous root and may not do well,” he added.
Kyle reminded the visitors and staff of the importance of legumes like clover to a well-balanced pasture as a nitrogen fixer. He also fielded questions regarding the care and sustenance of pastures. The trick there, he said, is not to graze them to aggressively or too early in the year.
“As a rule, one day in April will cost you three days in October,” said Kyle, referring to the desire of farmers to put their cattle out to pasture as soon as possible in the spring.
Kyle said one of the biggest mistakes farmers make is putting cattle onto pasture before the forage has had an attempt to really get started. He recommended not starting to graze until there are at least two leaves on the new shoots. This practice also applies after a field has been cut.
“The first leaf to appear is growing from energy stored in the root,” he explained. “It’s the second and third ones that begin to generate energy through photosynthesis and replenish the energy reserves. If you take that first leaf, you’ll knock the plant back and seriously affect the yield later in the season,” he remarked.
Kyle went on, by way of a graph, to demonstrate the growth cycle of forage plants and how to best utilize that knowledge.
“Sixty percent of the growth cycle takes place during May and June,” he said. “The other 40 percent is from there until October. For best results, try to get the crop off during that rapid-growth phase before it heads.”
Another speaker on the tour was Larry Lamb, who is the president of the Rainy River Soil and Crop Improvement Association. Lamb’s specialty is soybeans. He noted how soybeans fair better than most seed crops in the conditions found in the district.
“They (soybeans) seem to be fairly hardy,” Lamb noted.
Lamb uses a Roundup-ready version of soybean, which makes weed control far simpler. Roundup is a systemic herbicide that kills virtually anything and over the past few years, a number of seed varieties have been developed that are immune to it. However, all these products are considered to be GMOs (genetically modified organisms), which has some marketing implications. Nevertheless, Lamb maintained the future for soybeans seems secure.
“The world demand appears to be increasing for the foreseeable future,” he predicted.
One of the highlights of the tour was hybrid poplar project.
In 1999, EARS—in conjunction with Voyager Panel (now Ainsworth) and several local landowners—planted thousand of these experimental trees. They are supposed to grow and mature in a fraction of the time it takes normal trees. Early indications are the trees will in fact be of marketable size within the next 15 years. Some of the trees planted at the station are already 20 feet high and appear to be thriving, although according to Bliss, they initially required a considerable amount of help in the form of weeding.
“For the first five years, they’re fairly high-maintenance because they don’t compete well with weeds,” Bliss remarked. However, they do appear to have coped well with the wild weather swings over the past five years. Bliss noted the trees have survived everything from the flood of 2002 to the near-drought of last year.
Finally, the visitors inspected the station’s newest project—black spruce seedlings that were planted this spring. Each tree consists of a shoot that has been grafted onto the base. Bliss said it is too early to see how successful the project will be.
After the tour, the group went indoors for donuts, coffee, and further discussions.
The Emo Agricultural Research Station is open to the public during the summer months, Monday through Friday. For more information, or to arrange a tour, call 482-2354 during business hours.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
