Weekend Frost Damages Alfalfa In Southeast Region

Jun 03, 2020

Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) has released its first Green Gold Report of the year.

Extension Support Person John McGregor says the height of the crop ranged from 14 to 20 inches as of Monday morning.

"Right now the alfalfa crop across the province is looking fairly good," he said. "In the west and the central area of the province it's moving along very quickly. As we move into the eastern portion of the province, it's a little bit slower and that portion of the province does seem to have had a little bit more winter kill than the rest of the province."

McGregor said the frost over the weekend did cause damage to some alfalfa fields in the southeastern region.

"It saw temperatures get into that minus three range and although that's not overly critical, what was critical is that it stayed around for close to five hours and therefore we saw variation from almost no damage to some extensive damage in that east area of the province."

McGregor expects the alfalfa crop to progress quickly this week with the high temperatures, adding moisture is needed in some regions.

He adds it's still too early to predict Hay Day.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

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