Rethinking runoff issues on his hilly pasture land led producer Greg Pugh to let his grass do the work
"It may seem like an uphill battle, but every hill has a top," says Greg Pugh.
It's a statement that could easily apply to the general challenges of being a farmer, but it also applies in a more literal sense to the hilly topography that creates so many challenges on the fourth-generation mixed cow/calf and grain operation he farms with his parents and brother.
The rolling hills of the northeast Alberta farm, located near Edgerton — a 35 km drive southeast of Wainwright — present the constant challenge of keeping runoff from draining into and contaminating local water bodies. But like so many aspects of his family's operation, Pugh lets the grass in the pasture do the work for him, using established cover to slow down the flow of water and provide a natural filtration system.
Although Pugh has been aware of the importance of environmental sustainability issues for some time, much of his awareness has been driven by developing an Environmental Farm Plan (EFP), a self-assessment of the environmental strengths and risks on his operation. And driving that process was the desire for sustainability.
"The bottom line is that we intend to be here a long time. Doing so means taking progressive action that's in the best interests of the farm," he says.
Like many producers, Pugh has realized the importance of environmental sustainability for some time. However, the event which triggered his own "light bulb" moment on the potential of Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs), the benchmarks upon which the EFP program is built, came in the drought-ridden year of 2002. It was also the event which prompted him to develop an EFP while he was still a student in Lakeland College's agriculture program.
"Essentially, we decided that we needed to manage the grass in our pastures better, and one of the first things we did was reduce our stocking rates. Today, we run an average of 10-20 acres per cow on native grass and about 10 acres per cow on tame grass depending on the age of the stand. When we do run larger numbers of cows, we'll run a group on a given quarter for a few days and rotate them to another quarter."
Pugh thinks in terms of "stockpiling" grass in managing five quarters of his rented land in preparation for putting cattle on the paddock. He gradually builds the stocking rates on the land from May until August and when he pulls the calves off, he leaves the cows to graze there until October or November.
"The idea is to leave enough grass to catch the snow and help the new grass get established in the spring. It creates a mix of new green and dry, older grass, which is actually the better grass. The cows don't like the dry grass as much, but mixing it in with the green grass means they'll get a good balance of both."
The five quarters of rented land slope down into a coulee, making runoff and erosion control crucial. Pugh uses established grass cover to minimize erosion and act as a natural filter. "Established cover slows down the flow of water, giving the ground time enough to absorb the moisture. The grass cover also just stands up to the wind so much better than stubble.
"Basically, we try to maintain this whole five quarters as if it was a riparian area. We may use it for grazing, but you can graze a riparian area and still have an established stand. We try not to overgraze the land — we're trying to help the land help itself."
Pugh also manages hilly land by dedicating it to pasture and not using it for the grain side of the operation. "When you plant grain on hilly land, your input use goes through the roof because you use so much more fuel," he says. "With forage, hay and grass you don't have that level of input cost."
The lesson Pugh has learned through dealing with the unique qualities of his operation is that, ultimately, a producer has to do what's best for the farm. It's a lesson he brings to his new role as a workshop facilitator for the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company (AEFP), the deliverers of the EFP program in the province.
"For example, swath grazing holds great value for guys wintering livestock in the field. It serves to reduce energy use of hauling feed to cattle and works great for distributing cattle and the resulting nutrients across the entire field. In our situation, we can get a lot of snow, which means the cattle have to root through snow to get to the swath. That essentially means that the animals are working too hard to get their feed. The amount of energy it takes to get to the swath is counterproductive and could result in weight loss for the cows.
"So ultimately, you have to do what's best for your own farm. And that's also what developing an EFP is all about: customizing an action plan for environmental improvements on the farm to your own situation. That's the message I hope to get across to producers as I help them develop their own EFPs."
This article is reprintable with credit to AEFP as follows "Reprinted courtesy of the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company; www.albertaEFP.com".
