Dairy Knowledge at your fingertips

Volume 7 – 4th Edition- Winter 2012

SUMMARy hoWDoThEFoRAGEyIElDSonMyFARMCoMPARE…2 ThEFoRAGEChAllEnGE3DAIRyBoVInESyMPoSIuM6

Join us in taking up the forage

challenge!

Whenthetimecomestochoosethetopicofthenexttrainingcourseeveryyear,there’snoshortageofideas.Thisyearagainwehadalonglistofveryrelevantsubjects.Wesett-ledonthetopicofforages.Why?BecauseitwasbecomingobviousthatweneededtosupporttheQuebecForageCouncil

(CQPF1)inpromotingamorejudicioususeofforages.Forageyieldandqualityisasubjectthatconcernsalldairyproducers.

ThisissueofDairyKnowledgeatyourfingertipsgivesyouapreviewofournewtrainingcourseofferedinalltheregionsofQuebec.

TheentireValactateamwishesyouHappy Holidaysandinvitesyoutojoinusintakinguptheforagechallengein2013.Thisofferhasmoreconcreteadvan-tagesthansimplebestwishesforprosperityin2013.Happy New Year!

DAnIEllEFEBVRE,Ph.D.,agr.GeneralManager

“TheQuebecForageCouncil’sstrate-gicplanningshowsusthatyieldshavestagnatedoverthepastdecade.Thisplanningtellsusthatproducersneedtoinformthemselvesandthattheyneedtoseekoutinformationtochangethesituation.”

Mr.GERMAInlEFEBVRE,agr.,ChairoftheQuebecForageCouncil

“Toensuremaximumlong-termprofitabilityforadairyfarm,theherdneedstoproduceagreatdealofmilkandconsumelargeamountsofforage,andthatforagehastobeproducedatareasonablecost.”

Mr.REnéRoy,agr.,agroeconomistatValacta

“Ifthevariousplayersintheforagesector,includingdairyproducers,putasmuchenergyintodevelopingthissectorashasbeendoneforthesoyaandcornsectorsoverthelasthalfcentury,arealrevolutionisonourdoorstep,agreengoldone.ItisinthisspiritthatValacta’smanagement,boardofdirectorsandstaffarepleasedtoofferyoutheForageChallenge,theproductofasuccessfulcollaborativeeffortbetweenthedeve-lopmentteamandmanyexpertsinthissector.”

Mr.AlPhonSEPITTET,DairyProducerinSt-Tite,VicePresidentofValacta

On the subject of forages...

1Conseilquébécoisdesplantesfourragères

Regardlessofhowmuchyouproduce,it’salwayswor-thwhiletomeasuretheyield,becausetheinformationcanbeveryuseful.Alowyieldforagivenyearcouldmeanthatyouwillhavetobuysilageinthespring.higheryieldsmightallowyoutosell,ratherthanpurchase,cornorbarley.

We’reproposingashortexercisehere.Manyproducersalreadyhavetheinformationtheyneedintheirrecords.

How do the forage yields on my farm compare…

otherswillhavetoputtheirmemoriestowork.It’ssimplyamatterofindicatingthenumberofunits(balesorloads)inthetablebelow.Tocompletetheexercise,youwillneedtoknowthenumberofhectaresofforagesyouharvestedthisyear.youradvisorcanhelpyoucalculatetheweightofeachharvestingunit.

FORAGE HARVEST FOR OUR FARM IN 2012

Forage system Cut Total 1 2 3 4

Small balesLarge square balesRound balesChopped grass silageArea harvested (ha)

AMOUNT OF DRy MATTER IN ONE HARVESTING UNIT

System Format Rotocut Weight (kg of dry matter)

Small balesLarge square bales Round bales Boxes

TOTAL AMOUNT HARVESTED

System Number Dry matter weight Total (kg DM)

Small bales Large square bales Round bales Boxes

Forageyieldin2012:tonnesofdrymatterperhectare

Toseehowyouryieldcompares,allyouneedtodoissignupforourtrainingcourse.

ss

s

A

BTOTAL

B÷1000

AA

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BrothersSergeandFrançoisco-managetheBeauchampfarm,athrivingfamilyoperationthathasbeenpasseddownfromonegenerationtothenext.

Thebrothershavetheirownparticu-larinterests.Sergehasapassionforcrops,vastgreenspaces,andwouldgladlyspendhislifeonatractor.Françoisisacowman.hemanagestheherdlikeaproandknowseachcowbyherfirstname.

Inspiteoftheirdifferences,thebro-thersseethingsthesameway:they aim to run a profitable dairy farm while ensuring a good quality of life for themselves and their families.In2012,Quebec’ssmallfarms,liketheBeauchampfarm,havebeenshakenbythedroughtintheunitedStates.Inadditiontotheincreaseinthepriceofgrain,theBeauchampbrothersalsonoticethattheiryieldsarelessthansatisfactoryandthatforagequalitycouldbebetter.

THE FORAGE CHALLENGE

WIThThEBEAuChAMPBRoThERS

Who are they

hencethey’vetakenuptheFORAGE CHALLENGE: “Maintaining a good balance between profitabi-lity and quality of life by produ-cing a maximum amount of milk at the best possible cost using high quality forages produced at reasonable cost.” Tohelpthemanswerthechallenge,theBeauchampbrothersarecallingontheexperienceandopinionsoftheirdairyfarmingcolleagues,namely,you!Theyareinvitingyoutoguidethemintheirreflectionandtheirsearchforinformation.

Join them as they meet with the forage experts. Who knows,

you might just hit upon some good ideas along the way!

THE CHALLENGE

IS ON

FrançoisSerge

!

?

oncemorethisyear,thecontentofourtrainingcoursewillbeenrichedbyvideosegmentswithtestimoniesfromexpertsanddairyproducers.

Inordertosparkyourcuriosity,wewouldliketointroduceafewofourstarsandthetopicstheywillbediscussing.

The FORAGE CHALLENGE in Cinerama

There are 6 main guidelines to achieve quality silage harvest

operations. -RoBERTBERThIAuME,

Ph.D.,agr.,ForageSystemsExpert,Valacta.

I have been a member of CUMA (Coopérative d’utilisation de matériel agricole) for 30 years; including machines used for forage harvesting. I would like to share my experience with you.

- BRunoCASTonGuAy,DairyProducer,St-Roch-des-Aulnaies.

I pay particular attention to the soil preparation for the establishment of forage plants and I will share my techniques with you.

- DARCyGAuThIER,DairyProducer,Gentilly.

>

>

>

>I will explain the changes

I made to my methods that have helped improve

the efficiency of my silage harvest

operations.-JéRôMElEMAy,

DairyProducer,Saint-édouard-de-lotbinière.

• Becausewenoticedthepriceofgrainrisingonthestockmarket• Becausewesawyourmarginoverfeedcostaffectedbythecost

increaseinconcentrates• Becausethequalityand/orquantityinourfieldsisnotalwayssatisfying• Becauseitrequiresalotofworktoproduceforages,andsometimesthe

qualityisstillnotthere,whatashame!• Becauseproducingforagesisnotfreesowemightaswellmakethe

mostofit

BecauseinQuebec,whenyouareadairyproducer,youarealsoaforageproducer.AtValacta,weareinterestedindairyproduction.Consequently,weareinterestedinforageproduction.Wehavegatheredexpertstodeve-lopapracticaltrainingcoursethatwillbeprofitableforyou.

Why is it so important to talk about forages in 2013?

THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM FOR THE TRAINING COURSE

Robert Berthiaume,Ph.D.,agr.,ForageSystemsExpert

Julie Baillargeon,M.Sc.,agr.,TechnologyTransferandResearchProjectCoordinator

Mario Gauthier,agr.,StrategicAdvisor

René Roy,agr.,Agro-economist

Jean Brisson,agr.,DairyProductionExpert

Élaine Cloutier,M.Sc.,agr.,R&DAssistantManager-TrainingandKnowledgeTransfer

AdistinctionattheQuebecQualityAwards(GrandsPrixquébécoisdelaqualité)repre-sentsthehighesthonorannuallyawardedbytheQuebecgovernmenttocompaniesandorganizationsthatareconstantlyseekingexcel-lenceandapplybestpracticesatalllevelsoftheorganization.

Jean-Marc Sauvé, Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services and Land Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and Economy and Roch L. Dubé, President of the Board of the Mouvement québécois de la qualité present a Mention to Daniel Lefebvre, General Manager at Valacta, Dairy Production Center of Expertise.

Valacta was awarded a special Mention at the Quebec Quality Award presentation

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Withthisthemeinmind,renownedspeakerspresentedtheirleadingedgeknowledgeregardingtheimpro-vementofhealthandproductivityofdairyherds.Amongthem,ourexpertincomfort,behaviourandanimalwell-being,SteveAdam,deliveredacaptivatingconferenceonthestepsrequiredtomaketherightdecisionswhenundertakingarenovationorconstructionproject.Avideosegmentillustratedhispresentationandgaveproducersimportantpointstothinkaboutwhentheytakeonsuchaproject.

Take action for the future!Dairy Cattle Symposium

At the scientific poster expo, Débora Santschi presented the situation of ketosis in Quebec and its effects on production. Thanks to our Ketolab service, we now have an updated portrait of ketosis in Quebec dairy herds.

Steve Adam, Comfort, Behaviour and Animal Well-being Expert, captivated the audience with his conference titled “Build or renovate, the traps to avoid!”

Visit us at

kiosk # 69

VoluME7–4thEDITIon-WInTER2012

Valacta’sInformationReport,DairyProductionCentreofExpertise

Dairy Knowledge at your fingertips

Editing and Publishing: Annik Perron, Communication Manager, Clémence Godfroy, writer/editor and Julie Baillargeon, Ms.Sc.,agr. Technology transfert and Research Project CoordinatorCollaboration on this edition: Jean Brisson, agr., Dairy Production Expert, Robert Berthiaume, Ph.D., agr., Forage Systems Expert, Valacta R&D. Phone: 1-800-BON-LAIT, 514-459-3030 • Fax: 514-459-3020www.valacta.comE-mail: Dairy Knowledge: info@valacta.comCustomer Service: service.clientele@valacta.comLegal Deposit: ISSN 1496-2721 Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec and National Library of Canada

Valacta Talk-Show

At the Agricultural Show

January 16, 2013 at 10 am

Only $10 for Valacta clients,

including the visit of the show

(9 am to 5 pm).

A discount of $17.

INVITATION

January 16 from

10 am to 12 pm

Counter the cost

of inputs

Panel of experts

and real cases