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: [email protected] Service: [email protected] 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
