Improved water quality and manure management just makes good business sense.
Completing an Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) confirmed to Peace River region beef producers Donna and Larry Noullett they were on the right track with their land and herd management plan.
They still have some improvements to make on their Valleyview-area farm, but using off-site solar powered watering systems, and winter feeding cattle on pasture to optimize manure distribution are among the management practices recommended to producers who complete the EFP process.
"The planning process makes you realize where you need to make improvements, but it also makes you appreciate all the good things you are doing already," says Donna, who not only completed an EFP, but also serves as a review committee member. She and two other area producers meet on a regular basis to make a blind-review of completed plans on behalf of the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company (AEFP), the non-profit company which delivers the EFP program in Alberta. Under the confidential peer-review system they don't know whose EFP they are reviewing other than by a reference code, but they do make comments and recommendations about practices, which ultimately make it back to the producer.
For the Noulletts, who run the 100-head purebred Birch Meadows Angus on a 960 acre farm about three-and-a-half hours north of Edmonton, the main focus has been to keep cattle away from water sources, winter feed cattle on pasture, and to protect natural aspen and poplar stands from overuse by cattle. "We still want to change the fuel storage system from overhead, gravity-fed tanks to tanks on the ground that dispense fuel through solar powered pumps" says Noullett. "That's on the agenda but will have to wait until it fits into the budget."
That's the beauty of completing an EFP she points out. There is always room for improvement, but the specific projects fit in with what people can afford and what they can manage. "A change in management has to fit with your lifestyle," she says. "There is no point in developing a complex rotational grazing system if you don't have the time and resources to manage it."
When the Noulletts got involved in the EFP process about three years ago, they were already in the midst of making management changes. They were running an approximately 180 purebred cow herd at the time but have since scaled back to about 100 head. Their various projects included setting up solar powered off-site watering systems over the whole farm. They water cattle out of two wells and five dugouts in a rotational grazing system.
"The cattle drink out of troughs at all locations," she explains. "The wells are on a pressure system, but with the dugouts we use floating pumps powered by solar panels to pump water into nearby troughs. This off-site watering system provides better quality water because the hoof action and manure in and around the dugout is eliminated. The cattle prefer drinking out of troughs and the need for dugout maintenance is reduced." Water from the wells is pumped out to troughs on pasture through buried pipeline providing year round, high quality water.
Along with a rotational grazing system during the summer, the Noulletts prefer to feed cattle on pasture in winter. At times they will use swath grazing and stockpiled forage as part of the winter feeding program, but they also haul silage and hay to feed out on pasture.
"The point is to keep the manure out on the fields where it is needed," says Noullett. While most of their land is committed to perennial hay and pasture production, they also feed cattle on fields where they grow oats for silage just to better distribute the nutrients.
The beef producers are also using portable windbreaks out on pasture, which helps distribute cattle and reduces livestock pressure on natural treed shelterbelts. "There were some areas of aspen, poplar and birch where the cattle would congregate and seek shelter," Noullett explains. "These areas would be overgrazed, some of the trees might be damaged and there was a risk of losing some of the natural protection."
Several of the natural areas have been fenced off with portable electric fencing to limit cattle access, and portable windbreaks are now pulled out onto pasture to replace the winter shelter purpose of the woodlots for mature cows as well as calves. "We are already starting to see growth recover in the natural areas," she adds. "The grass is coming back, as well as young trees and shrubs which will create a mixed age stand." The portable windbreaks also bring flexibility to distributing the manure across the entire field. They help control where the cattle want to be.
The Noulletts are adopting management practices that work for them, but as Donna realizes through her review committee work which provides contact with other producers and other Environmental Farm Plans, there is no one prescription that works for everyone. "Each farm is different and there are some regional issues that have to be appreciated," she says. "For example, if someone is farming in an area where there are high wildlife populations, swath grazing in winter may not be a viable option. The EFP program and the resulting plan are designed to be customizable to specific farm situations.
"One point that is common among all producers who complete a plan, is once you have gone through the process and have an Environmental Farm Plan you'll never look at your farm the same way again," she says.
This article is reprintable with credit to AEFP as follows "Reprinted courtesy of the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company; www.albertaEFP.com".
