For Manitoba farmers looking for ways to get more from every acre, late fall can be the right time to tackle fields that consistently struggle to produce a profitable crop.
Flood prone, weedy, saline areas can quietly eat into farm profitability year after year. Rather than continuing to apply crop inputs and fight with wet, saline acres that simply don’t pay, farmers can consider perennial forages as a longer-term solution.
Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is encouraging farmers to take advantage of the fall window for dormant seeding as part of its Marginal Areas Program.
“Some acres aren’t as well suited to growing annual crops year after year,” says Daphne Appleyard, a marginal areas specialist with DUC. “Fall is a good opportunity to start changing that equation by establishing perennial forages. Perennials reduce the need for annual crop inputs, provide ground cover to reduce erosion and weed pressure, and deep roots use moisture more efficiently than annual crops while mitigating nutrient losses from runoff.”
Marginal acres are widespread across the Prairies. Research by DUC partners estimates that about 13 acres in every quarter section are marginal farmland—millions of acres across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta that remain persistently unproductive despite fertilizer, crop protection products and careful management.
For farmers, those areas can represent a significant financial loss. Perennial forages provide another option, putting those acres to work while protecting the soil and building a productive forage stand.
Get the timing right
Dormant seeding is designed to put seed in the ground late enough in the fall that it remains dormant until spring.
Although field margins may be currently saturated in some areas, Manitoba soils have a natural ability to infiltrate surface water. And field conditions can change quickly. If long-range weather forecasts hold, prairie farmers could expect to see an open fall with time post-harvest to reclaim challenging acres before freeze up.
Click here to see more...