The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture is sponsoring a research project to help better understand the amount of soil nutrients deposited on livestock feeding grounds in the interior of British Columbia. This information will be used to build reference values that can aid ranchers in understanding the carry-over fertilizer effects from manure and feed remnants deposited on seasonal feeding areas (sites used for pasture, hay or other crops during the growing season, and also for feeding, watering and bedding livestock in the dormant season).

Through better nutrient management planning, producers can lower the costs for their forage production while minimizing any risk to the environment, through avoiding over application.

Fifty-eight ranching operations from Kelowna to Smithers, and points in-between will allow researchers to access their feeding sites this winter (starting January 2015) to take samples of beef cattle manure and/or feed remnants. These samples will be sent for laboratory analysis to determine the total nutrient content (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) and its availability for crop growth.

Those participating in the study will receive, free of charge, the results of the analysis of the nutrients deposited on their own ranch, as well as the regional averages.

Expressions of interest to participate in this research project are now closed. Results were released by the Ministry in mid-2015.

Seasonal Feeding Area Stewardship

Producers interested in additonal planning information for their seasonal feeding areas can refer to the following fact sheets I produced for the Ministry of Agriculture.

Fact Sheet 1

Selecting Seasonal Feeding Areas

Fact Sheet 2

Managing Seasonal Feeding Areas

Fact Sheet 3

Nutrient Management for Seasonal Feeding Areas

Acknowledgement

Funding for this research was provided through Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.