Last week the federal government announced $182.7 million in funding to help farmers transition to environmentally sustainable and economically resilient production strategies.

This money will be shared between 12 organizations across the country that will run programs focusing on cover cropping, nitrogen management and rotational grazing – practices that store carbon and reduce greenhouse gasses.

Among these 12 groups are the Union des Producteurs Agricole (UPA) and the . . .

Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA).

The union’s Pontiac president Scott Judd said that UPA will be responsible for supporting Pontiac’s grain producers in this transition.

“For the start it’s mostly around cover cropping and minimum tillage, and in the end working towards more organic matter and reduction of high nitrogen inputs,” Judd explained, adding that when or how exactly the financial aid will become available is unclear.

Cedric MacLeod is executive director of the CFGA, which will offer support programs for the region’s beef farmers. He said that while the money is not yet officially in his hands, he has plans to use his share of the fund to set up a support program to help farmers implement a rotational grazing plan.

Individual farms will be able to apply for support to hire a grazing consultant who will help develop and implement a field rotation plan.

“Rotational grazing is all really about giving the grass rest, and that means you’re controlling the animals’ access to the grass, and how much pressure they put on that grass,” MacLeod explained.

He described the grass’s root system as a gas tank. Protecting the grass’s ability to fill its own tank increases the quantity and quality of the forage. Moving animals away from grass before they chew it down to its roots protects the pasture’s ability to sustain itself.

“There’s still green, still a solar panel, and so it still collects solar energy. It’s going to refill the roots, refill the gas tank,” MacLeod explained.

But when the animals are left to graze the grass for too long, they destroy the grass’s ability to rebuild itself.

“It’s about letting the grass interact with the sun to do what it does best, and that’s generate carbohydrates and biomass, through photosynthesis.”

The use of rotational grazing also improves the efficiency of the pasture. According to MacLeod, well managed pasture can feed up to 50 per cent more animals on the same piece of land and can do so for a much longer period.

“If we can have better pastures and extend our grazing season and keep them on pasture for an extra 30-60 days, that equates to an extra 100 to 200 dollars per cow per year,” MacLeod said. “So that starts to add up.”

MacLeod also suggested that until the price of carbon credits reaches $100 per ton, economic pasture value in the Pontiac is likely better measured in terms of forage productivity than in carbon credits.

“Increasing your dry matter production by 50 per cent, that’s where the value is,” MacLeod said.

While there are no guarantees, MacLeod is optimistic that this federal support for pasture management will become available to Quebec farmers this year.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!