Agricultural Feed Options for Northern Livestock
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Agricultural Feed Options For Northern Livestock Investigating feed options and feed management systems for Yukon livestock Prepared by: Treharne Drury Prepared for: Yukon Research Centre (Cold Climate Innovation), Yukon agriculture research committee and the Yukon Agriculture Branch April 25, 2014 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents ..................................................................................................... 2 List of Tables: ........................................................................................................... 5 List of Figures ......................................................................................................... 10 Acknowledgements and Project Partners .............................................................. 12 Executive Summary ................................................................................................ 13 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 18 Methods and Work plan ...................................................................................... 345 Summary of Yukon Agronomic Conditions ............................................................ 21 Climate and Land Class Suitability: ..................................................................... 21 Agricultural Soils ................................................................................................. 28 Soil Fertility ...................................................................................................... 33 Identifying Comparable Jurisdictions .................................................................. 39 Variables of comparison between jurisdictions: ................................................. 39 Jurisdiction for comparison ............................................................................. 41 Crops and Native Feed Options for Yukon ............................................................. 47 Traditional Crops and Forages ......................................................................... 49 Yukon Forage Summary Guide......................................................................... 96 Future Research, Forages ................................................................................ 99 Feed Management and Feed options for Yukon Livestock .................................. 104 Ruminants ......................................................................................................... 104 2 Agricultural Feed Options for Northern Livestock Table of Contents Cattle ............................................................................................................. 107 Elk .................................................................................................................. 173 Bison .............................................................................................................. 192 Small Ruminants: Goats and Sheep ............................................................... 202 Non‐Ruminants ................................................................................................. 234 Poultry ........................................................................................................... 234 Hogs ............................................................................................................... 282 References ........................................................................................................... 302 Reference Materials and Summaries ................................................................... 322 General ............................................................................................................. 322 Poultry .............................................................................................................. 323 Cattle ................................................................................................................. 327 Pigs .................................................................................................................... 329 Sheep/Goats ..................................................................................................... 333 Forage Crops ..................................................................................................... 339 Elk and Bison ..................................................................................................... 341 3 Agricultural Feed Options for Northern Livestock Table of Contents 4 Agricultural Feed Options for Northern Livestock Table of Contents List of Tables: Table 1. Land class suitability ratings for Canada ................................................... 25 Table 2. 30 years of weather data and land class designation for various Yukon sites. ....................................................................................................................... 26 Table 3. Average precipitation for agroclimatic sites around Yukon, 1981‐2010 .. 27 Table 4. Average dry biomass of oat varieties over three years (t/ha) .................. 28 Table 5. Areal extent of Agricultural Capability Class in area surveyed by Rostad et al. (1977) ................................................................................................................ 30 Table 6. Description and agricultural potential of various soils throughout the Yukon ..................................................................................................................... 32 Table 7. Soil carbon (%) for agricultural soils throughout the Yukon ..................... 37 Table 8. Summary table of Yukon Agricultural Conditions. .................................... 38 Table 9. Comparative GDD's of various northern ag. Regions. .............................. 41 Table 10. Summer rainfall at various locations in Yukon, 1981‐2010. ................... 44 Table 11. Cereal, legume and grass varieties tested during the New Crop Development Project, 1985‐1987 .......................................................................... 54 Table 12. Maturity and estimated yields of oat trial 1985 ..................................... 55 Table 13. Maturity and estimated yields of barley trials 1985 ............................... 55 Table 14. Estimated yields of oat and barley forages, 1985 .................................. 56 Table 15. Estimated grain yields at all sites, 1986 .................................................. 57 Table 16. Highest rated grass and Alfalfa forage results, 1986 .............................. 57 Table 17. Protein content and bushel weight of barley and oat testing, 1986 ...... 58 Table 18. Haydorf Farm cereal forage trial results, 1988 ....................................... 59 Table 19. Firth Farms cereal forage trial results, 1988 ........................................... 60 Table 20. Mease Farms forage trial results, harvested July 19 1989. .................... 61 5 Agricultural Feed Options for Northern Livestock Table of Contents Table 21. Heydorf forage Trial results, harvested July 17 1989. ............................ 62 Table 22. Firth Farms forage trial results, harvested 1989 .................................... 63 Table 23. Toole forage trials, Watson Lake, harvested July 11‐12 1989. ............... 64 Table 24. Pelly Farms forage trials, harvested July 28, 1990.................................. 65 Table 25. Mease Farm forage trial, harvested July 18‐19 1990. ............................ 66 Table 26. Heydorf Farm forage trial, harvested July 26 1990. ............................... 67 Table 27. Firth Farms forage trial, harvested July 16 1990. ................................... 68 Table 28. Yukon Crop Development Project Average Crop Yields 1989‐1990 ....... 69 Table 29. Yukon Crop Development Project Average Protein (%) 1989‐1990 ....... 70 Table 30. Average dry biomass of oat varieties over three years (t/ha), from 2012 Research and Demonstration Progress Report ...................................................... 78 Table 31. Average grain yields of oat varieties tested, 2010‐2012 (t/ha), from 2012 Research and Demonstration Progress Report ...................................................... 79 Table 32. Dry biomass yields of yellow field peas from 2010‐2012, from 2012 Research and Demonstration Progress Report ...................................................... 82 Table 33. Average yellow pea seed production between 2010 and 2012 at McCabe Creek and the Research Farm. From 2012 Research and Demonstration Report. 83 Table 34. Yukon Ag Branch forage testing, 2003‐2005 ......................................... 85 Table 35. Average yields of oat and barley varieties, Fairbanks Alaska, 1971‐1979 ............................................................................................................................... 87 Table 36. Inclusion rates of lupin forage for livestock classes. ............................. 90 Table 37. Blue Lupin flowering and maturity dates, growing degree days and yields. ..................................................................................................................... 91 Table 38. Blue lupin proximate analysis (dry weight basis) ................................... 92 6 Agricultural Feed Options for Northern Livestock Table of Contents Table 39. Faba bean flowering and maturity dates, growing degree days and yields. ....................................................................................................................