We are back chatting this week with Mary-Jane Orr, General Manager for Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Inc.  Mary-Jane leads a dedicated team at MBFI to advance Manitoba’s beef & forage industry through engaging stakeholders, evaluating on-farm innovation, and extension for sustainability of farmers, the public, and the environment. She deeply values the opportunity to collaborate with producers, researchers, education providers, extension specialists, conservation groups, and all stakeholders in field-testing management practices and growing understanding of improved production in Manitoba. Mary-Jane holds a PhD from Purdue University in soil microbial ecology in agricultural systems, is a Professional Agrologist, and Certified Crop Advisor. Her experience in ecology and field agronomy gives her a unique perspective on the challenges facing agriculture today. 

In this episode, we are talking about the Bale Placement and Binding Project that was led by MBFI staff in 2019.  For this project, bales for winter bale grazing were strategically placed in two different orientations, and used two different bindings.  The objective of the project was to determine which approach had better usage by cows and how much remaining residue was present from each in the spring. The cost difference between the binding types and labour were also calculated.  

Mary-Jane also shares the general benefits of bale grazing, some challenges that can arise with this type of system, and why this information is important to share with producers from an environmental, economical and time management standpoint.

To view the entire project report, with sections on each topic, please visit: https://www.mbfi.ca/nutrition-feed-efficiency

To contact Mary-Jane and find out more about this project, or any of the other projects or events at MBFI, please call her at 431-255-0011 or email at [email protected]

The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP), Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA). 

We encourage you to follow MBFI on social media, or check out the website for more information on project findings and results, upcoming events and more!

Instagram: @MBBeefandForage

Facebook: @MBBeefandForage

Twitter: @MBBeefandForage

Website: www.mbfi.ca 

Email address: [email protected] 

Mary-Jane’s Phone Number: 431-255-0011