Manitoba Forage Symposium

Developing Relationships, Creating Quality!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Southern Manitoba Convention Centre, Morris, MB

Regardless of the commodity being produced, “Quality Matters” and no other agricultural commodity is as directly rewarded for outstanding quality than forage. In order to assist forage producers with their goal of generating high quality forage products, the Manitoba Forage Council and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, in conjunction with a variety of agri-businesses and funding agents, are pleased to present the 2009 Manitoba Forage Symposium.

The symposium will be held on February 18th at the Southern Manitoba Convention Centre in Morris, MB. The agenda is filled with speakers from across North America to address the topics of international markets, pest management strategies, forage species impact on livestock production, predicting harvest quality and logistics management. If you consider forage a crop, there will be something of interest at the Forage Symposium for you.

DOWNLOAD Brochure (pdf)

AGENDA

Tuesday, February 17th (Set-up)
7:00-9:00	Hospitality Suite @ Morris Super 8 / Trade Booth set up
Wednesday February 18th
7:30-9:15	Trade Booth Setup/Registration
9:20-9:30	Welcome
9:30-10:20	Current State of International Forage Markets – Ed Shaw will bring his unique perspective of global forage markets and the impact that economic realties are having upon them.
10:20-11:00	The Life and Times of the Alfalfa Weevil -- Brent Elliot is a Farm Production Extension – Entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, and will be providing detailed information regarding the life cycle of a relatively recent arrival in the Manitoba Alfalfa production scene, the alfalfa weevil. The information presented will assist you in making good decisions regarding a pest management strategy in relation to these hungry larvae.
11:00-11:45	Impact of Forage Species Selection on Livestock Productivity -- Devenish Singh, Director of Research, Barenbrug, USA will review the benefits of feed utilization and overall herd health in relation to the species composition of the forage provided. He will share concepts for improving overall agronomic production and discuss the potential for improved nutrient utilization by selecting plants with synergistic relationships.
11:45-1:15	Lunch and Display Visitation
1:15-1:50	Determining Hay Quality before you Cut -- John McGregor Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Farm Production Advisor, will share his experience regarding practical techniques for estimating the quality of alfalfa pre harvest in order to plan a cutting schedule. He will review the outcomes of the last 15 years of the Green Gold program, predictive equation for alfalfa quality (PEAQ), the use of Growing Degree Days and their relative impacts on Relative Feed Quality (RFQ).
1:50-2:50	Elements of Successful Businesses – What motivates a hay producer to build a better hay rake, or start a trucking company, or manufacture hay handling tools? Find out as two producers share their tribulations and triumphs on the road to success.
2:50-3:15	Coffee Break
3:15-3:40	You’re already growing forage – Have you considered opportunities in forage seed? Doug Cattani, Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives, Business Development Specialist- Forage Seed, will provide a brief overview of the forage seed industry and the opportunities that are being realized by Manitoba forage seed producers.
3:40-4:30	Churchill; Gateway of the future? – Bill Drew, Executive Director of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation will share a vision for logistics encompassing road, rail and water that impacts Manitoba’s position as a provider of forage resources to the world.
4:30-4:35	Closing remarks

 Visit the Manitoba Forage Council Website or call MAFRI's Beausejour Office at (204) 268-6228 with your credit card and an e-mail address (required to receive your conference confirmation).

MFC is now collecting memberships online. One membership per household enables your entire family (household residents) to attend MFC events at a reduced rate. Non Member tickets are also available.

If you attended 2008 Grazing School or have submitted your membership fee, your membership is ACTIVE. Please call (204) 268-6228 to retrieve your information for registering. An e-mail address is required to receive your conference and membership receipts.