Grazing: Impact of Utilization Project with Dr. Mary-Jane Orr

Today we are talking with Dr. Mary-Jane Orr about the Grazing: Impact of Utilization project, which looks at two different grazing strategies, 50% utilization and 80% utilization in rotational grazing. This project started in 2022 at MBFI and is still in progress.  

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. 

This project is being implemented at MBFI’s Brookdale Farm, which was previously used for a project exploring planned versus continuous grazing. 

Mary-Jane shares information on plant forage species changes that have been observed since the beginning of the project, differences and trends in forage production, regrowth and forage quality, which has impacted grazing days in each treatment.

A lot of information is included in the economic analysis for this project.  Mary-Jane shares how labour and materials were accounted for, as well as other economic factors that have been considered.  These costs were broken down into cost/cow for the MBFI herd, and Mary-Jane shares this information as well.

Resources and Links:

MBFI Website: www.mbfi.ca

Grazing: Impact of Utilization Project Page https://www.mbfi.ca/grazing-impact-of-utilization

Planned Grazing Project Page: https://www.mbfi.ca/planned-grazing

Manitoba Beef & Forage YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxu5nJ0Cs9pUdSzJjEBwZRA/featured

Episode 7: Planned Grazing to Increase Forage Production with Pam Iwanchysko

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/a787adae-e6c6-4028-a56f-dc47f40af24c

Beef Cattle Research Council: www.beefresearch.ca  

Farmers For Climate Solutions: https://farmersforclimatesolutions.ca/

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

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

X (Twitter): @MBBeefandForage

Website: www.mbfi.ca 

Email address: information@mbfi.ca 

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