By: Emily McKague, Georgian Central Regional Communication Coordinator

The Ontario Forage Council’s (OFC) Advanced Grazing Mentorship Program had boots on the ground this summer – with mentors teaching in pasture fields, as an extension of their wintertime webinar programs. 

The program was funded by Farmers for Climate Solutions, in partnership with the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association, and implemented provincially by OFC. The original program content was created by Steve Kenyon, an Alberta grazing specialist before being adapted to fit Ontario farming conditions. The Grazing Mentorship Program was developed to train farmers in rotational grazing systems and boost the implementation of this best management practice. Three mentors: Dean Cober, Anita O’Brien, and Birgit Martin each led a seven-night webinar series between August 2022 and February 2023. Modules covered everything from advanced grazing management principles, to developing grazing plans and records, to understanding the finances associated with grazing systems. 

As a continuation of the program, OFC and the mentors delivered three pasture walks throughout June and August 2023. Attendance was encouraged for participants of the webinar series and also open to the public. The first walk was held in Meaford at Cobercow Hay & Cattle, the second in Leeds County at the home of Brad & Karen Davis and the third on Manitoulin Island at Pure Island Beef Co.  

Each pasture walk included presentations from mentors, guest speakers and the host farmer. 

OMAFRA Forage and Grazing Specialist, Christine O’Reilly, demonstrated tools for measuring pasture production, explaining their use in forecasting feed production and adapting management plans accordingly. She compared multiple grazing sticks with rising and falling plate meters and allowed participants the opportunity to try each tool themselves. 

Anita O’Brien teamed up with Mike Swidersky at the first walk to demonstrate knot tying when connecting high tensile wire to itself or a corner insulator. She demonstrated how to work with electric net fencing and compared it against various other fence types available at each farm as well. 

Pasture owners demonstrated the equipment they use for setting up, moving, and repairing fencing. They also showed strategies for moving their livestock between paddocks. Dean Cober and Mike Swidersky demonstrated using a prop post in an existing fence line, allowing cattle to move freely under the wires and into an alley without needing gates built in. They spoke about fence tension and animal training and gave tips on building similar systems on participants’ own farms.

In Leeds County, an extensive watering system was in place to supply water to 900 ewes over several hundred acres. The Davises showed equipment used for implementing and maintaining that system and shared advice for others who might consider a similar set-up. Bale grazing was discussed as a method of winter-feeding livestock, and a pasture which has undergone extensive bale grazing for years was investigated. 

On Manitoulin Island, Birgit and her family spoke about calculating carrying capacity and managing feed inventory over pastures that vary in soil type, topography, and production potential. She demonstrated what she termed ‘fair’ to ‘very good’ pasture areas on the same farm and talked about strategies for managing them. As well, she explained how they extend their grazing season with hay fields, corn stalks and stockpiled forage.

Although the 2023 pasture walks served as the culmination of the Advanced Grazing Mentorship Program, proceedings from the webinars and pasture walks were recorded with the aim to make them available through the OFC’s YouTube channel in the future. Keep an eye out for those videos to be posted online: https://www.youtube.com/@ontarioforagecouncil2618!