Evaluate It Calgary, AB November 14, 2018 CFGA 2018 Evaluate It Calgary, AB November 14, 2018

Most Importantly What is IT? Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock.[1] Historically, the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially as hay or silage.[2]  While the term forage has a broad definition, the term forage crop is used to define crops, annual or biennial, which are grown to be utilized by grazing or harvesting as a whole crop.[4] Wikipedia November 5, 2018 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forage

Forage Challenges Competitive Industry for Land Forage is an amortized cropping situation Forage is part of a systems approach Your primary customer is a “least cost” opportunist

What is IT? What to Measure?

Inputs – what we put in Soil Testing Fertility Seed Costs This is a problem with forages We see/remember annual costs (eg: seeding cost) but don’t amortize it over the life of the stand

Production – What we take off Pounds Quality AUGD N, P, K, S Soil Nutrients removed when harvesting forages in kgs/Tonne (lbs/ton) of DM harvested Nutrient Alfalfa (18%CP) Grass (14% CP) Nitrogen (N) 29 (58) 22 (44) Phosphorous (P2O5) 7 (14) 5 (10) Potassium (K2O) 30 (60) 21 (42) Sulphur (S) 3 (6) 2 (4) Adapted from Table 26 pg 168 of Alberta Forage Manual

What We Leave Behind One of the strengths of forage production Carbon Soil Biology

What We Add? Carbon Nitrogen - Legumes Litter Soil Health Biodiversity Disease Break – Canola/Wheat/Canola/Winter/Canola

Profitability Profitability determines acreage LL Canola RR Canola Spring Wheat Alfalfa Hay Grass Alfalfa Hay Grain Silage Gross 466.76/622.81 430.01/564.69 282.55/404.91 112.85 159.36/255.68 372.26/602.96 Gross Margin 143.69/323.33 134.25/299.99 79.58/192.65 40.28 83.34/178.77 129.08/339.06 ROE 71.23/276.04 68.42/228.86 21.79/135.15 -3.86 40.87/138.48 92.16/306.98 Yield 41.14/55.23 37.73/50.65 42.05/57.54 0.69 1.63/2.53 6.43/10.05 AgriProfit$ - 2017 Provincial Cost and Return Benchmarks for Crops and Forages: Dryland https://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/deptdocs.nsf/all/econ16736/$FILE/17Dryland.pdf Profitability determines acreage Are there enough cows to eat more productivity?

Benchmarking Productivity – per acre Profitability – per acre 3 tier $ Social Environmental Trend

Application of Technology This is not necessarily a new machine Technologies that impact profitability Electric fence Varieties Foliars Nutrient Management Google Earth Pasture Software Innovation trumps Technology http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/news/scientific-achievements-in- agriculture/sainfoin-a-new-light-is-shone-on-an-old-forage- plant/?id=1416326892525 Application of Technology

Forage Industry Opportunities Personal Productivity Profitability Industry What can we do to add Value to our Customer? R& D Education Demonstration

Systems Approach Financials are annual Crops are mostly annual Forage is annual and not… With Forage it is complex so we need to measure more than just production/profit

Measure the Manager Uncomfortable but Important The Manager is the pivot point that joins fresh air and sunshine with resources on the ground They control inputs/outputs, profit, and sustainability of the forage industry

The Opportunity Lies in the thing we most often fail to measure Management Education Experimentation Deployment/Scaling up IT is the Manager

Thank You Questions?