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Multiple benefits make relay cropping a good option for producersDate posted: December 13, 2004Two crops are better than one, or at least that appears to be the case in ongoing relay cropping research at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre (AAFC-PARC) in Agassiz, B.C. "Italian ryegrass inter-seeded with corn in the spring is helping B.C. lower-mainland farmers use surplus soil nitrogen while producing excellent forage for livestock," says Dr. Shabtai Bittman, a forage and field crop management specialist at AAFC-PARC. The practice, known as relay cropping, further benefits the environment by significantly reducing the amount of nitrogen lost through leaching or to the atmosphere. The research/extension project is being co-ordinated through the Pacific Field Corn Association and is supported in part with funds from the Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture (GHGMP). A regional report about the research is available on the recently revamped Soil Conservation Council of Canada Web site at www.soilcc.ca. The concept is to seed a second crop with corn that will continue to grow and use surplus nitrogen once corn has been harvested. In this case, Italian ryegrass emerged as the most suitable forage. Surplus nitrogen in the usually heavy winter rainfall area of south-coast B.C. causes major environmental concerns because it can leach from soil and enter groundwater, says Sandra Traichel, of the Abbotsford Soil Conservation Association and a field co-ordinator for the GHGMP in B.C. Relay cropping is one possible way to reduce surplus nitrogen. Even with all the benefits, producer interest in relay cropping in Canada was slow in coming, says Bittman, but recent producer tours showing the success of the practice has generated considerable interest among B.C. producers in the past two years. Italian ryegrass has proven to be avaluable forage for dairy cattle. A very palatable forage with good protein, the crop can yield three to five tonnes per hectare and be used as silage, green feed and pasture. "Relay cropping can play an important role in reducing the impact of surplus nitrogen on the environment," says Bittman. "And Italian ryegrass is not only an excellent forage, but can help producers reduce feeding costs." The GHGMP supports a broad range of projects across Canada with the goal to promote awareness of agricultural practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. SCCC administers the delivery of the soil and nutrient management sector component of the program. For more information on activities, visit the SCCC’s Web site at www.soilcc.ca. Reprintable with credit. This article is available for reprint, with acknowledgement of the source: Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) |
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