The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) is pleased to feature the provincial stewardship award recipients in the running for the 2023 The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA). The recipient of the CCA’s national award will be announced during the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in August, in Calgary, Alberta. As always, a common theme among recipients is a profound sense of obligation to care for land, water, and animals. Through sharing their stories, insights, beliefs and values, readers can gain perspective about the relationship between stewardship and cattle production, and the benefits of conservation to society.
In this issue, we feature Manitoba Beef Producers' 2023 Environmental Stewardship Award recipient, Lowry Farms, owned and operated by Glen and Pam Lowry.
Management and production practices focus on good environmental stewardship.
by Lee Hart
Glen and Pam Lowry are working to make every acre of their south-central Manitoba cow-calf operation more productive.
They've spent a farming lifetime working to improve soil fertility and increase forage production, which contributes to improved soil texture and water retention. Healthy and vigorous forage production leads to increased carbon sequestration. And, the well-managed pastures and woodlands also creates an inviting environment and ideal habitat for many species of wildlife.
Their attention to sustainable farming practices over the years, has created one of those multi-win/win situations and in 2023 earned Lowry Farms recognition as the Manitoba Beef Producers nomination for TESA — The Environmental Stewardship Award.
"This farm has been intensively managed for many years," says Glen Lowry, who is the fourth generation on the family farm. "Our goal is to get the most out of every square foot of land. It is not only good for us as a farming operation, but good for the cattle and good for the environment as well."
For the Lowry's who farm near Darlingford in the Pembina Valley region, this certainly hasn't been any overnight project. Some of the sustainable farming practices were initiated by Glen's father during his career and have been carried on by Glen and Pam. The Lowrys also have three sons, Duncan, Devin and Derek who all have off-farm careers, but still help out on the farm as needed and as time allows.
"My dad was one of the first, for example, to begin rotational grazing," says Glen. "It is a practice that I grew up with. Since the late 1990s, we have really intensified the pasture management on this farm, working to improve overall productivity."
Lowry Farms today consists of 320 acres with slightly rolling topography, that includes about 220 acres of pasture and about 100 acres of woodlands and sensitive wetlands. Their pasture is a mix of 30 per cent native forages and 70 per cent tame species that includes brome, orchard grass and legumes such as cicer milkvetch. They also have 200 acres in a separate location, which is used for producing winter feed such as hay and round-bale silage. This all helps support a productive and efficient herd of about 80 commercial cow-calf pairs, with Angus and Simmental-cross females bred to Simmental and Charolais bulls.
With rolling topography, pasture, woodlands, and wetlands, their farm that sits at the top of an escarpment, stands out as somewhat as a refuge for wildlife, says Lowry. "We are surrounded by open prairie and annual cropland. We see a plethora of different mammals, birds and insects —some of which are endangered — that find habitat on the farm. Every year for example we seem to attract different species of birds that we haven't seen before."
Proper management of farm resources to benefit beef production as well as the environment has always been a priority for the Lowrys.
Depending on the year and weather conditions, the cow herd begins calving on pasture in early May and once calves are on the ground, the herd begins a rotational grazing system through a network of 22 paddocks on the home half section of land.
"We use both the open pastures and woodlands during the grazing season, and use fencing to keep cattle out of the sensitive wetlands," says Lowry. For about 25 years their grazing program has involved using portable electric fencing and moving cattle every day to fresh grass within each paddock.
They have a pipeline watering system to carry fresh water to troughs in many of the paddocks, and also draw water from natural ponds and sloughs to fill off-sight watering troughs. With the help of the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation, they recently created "water retention sights" — five small dugouts in areas of pasture where other water sources were not available. As these fenced-off dugouts collect water, the Lowrys will use a solar powered pumping system to fill nearby troughs with clean drinking water for the cattle.
One important aspect of Lowry Farms management has been to keep cattle on pasture year-round. While the rotational grazing ends in fall, the cattle are fed out on the paddocks all winter.
"We begin rotational grazing in May and the plan is to keep cattle on pasture as long as possible," says Lowry. That means most years the herd is usually on grass until early to mid-November when feeding begins. Winter rations include a combination of hay and round bale silage fed on the paddocks.
"Our objective is to make sure all the nutrients — urine and manure— go back on the land," he says. "It is amazing what a difference that makes in adding fertility to the soil and ultimately improving forage production."
And he uses different nutrient management strategies during the winter. On some paddocks, for example, he'll place portable windbreaks in certain areas to help concentrate cattle — and nutrients — in areas where more fertility is needed. Similarly, in other paddocks, he'll line up a series of hay or silage bales, that are limit fed over winter again to help concentrate nutrients in certain areas.
"It is gratifying to try some of these techniques and then see that they really work," says Lowry. " When we concentrate cattle in certain areas you can see the response in forage production even 10 years later. It really does make a difference."
In the past year or so, annual cover crops have been used to help with renovation of a long-established perennial hayfield. The alfalfa stand was playing out, but rather than plow and cultivate the field and reseed, Lowry direct seeded a cover crop blend directly into alfalfa stubble.
"First I used a herbicide to terminate the alfalfa and then direct seeded a blend of annual crops that included warm, cool and full-season forage species," he says. With a mix that ensured something would grow depending on the growing season conditions, he says it produced an excellent crop that was put up as round bale silage as well as hay.
He plans to seed a cover crop blend again in 2023, then another year of partial cover crop with one-third of the field seeded to yellow-flower sweet clover in 2024. After a three to four year break in rotation, the hay fields will be seeded back to alfalfa.
The Lowrys are always interested in learning more about proper farm management, beef and forage production, and environmental stewardship. Several years ago, they completed a Holistic Farm Management Course which among other things was one of the key drivers to applying practices to keep the nutrients on the land. They also completed an Environmental Farm Plan that's also influenced their management.
And they've made their farm available to a number of research projects conducted by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the University of Manitoba. Dr. Aaron Glenn with AAFC has an ongoing study looking at carbon sequestration and bovine methane emissions. Mae Elsinger, an AAFC rangeland biologist has a study involving forage production, while Melanie Dubois, a biodiversity biologist with AAFC, is studying beneficial insects. And from the U of M, Brenda Brown, an associate professor conducted a shelter belt study in their woodlands. The Lowrys are always keen to learn more, and also share their experience with others.
All measures to improve production and protect the environment, have led the Lowrys to treat their farm as an ecosystem — one aspect relies on or benefits another.
"We are applying practices to optimize production on every square foot of land and to ensure every drop of water stays on the farm," says Lowry. "We have been able to increase forage production, which in turn can be harvested by our feed-efficient cow herd. The cows return nutrients to the soil, which feeds the dung beetles and earthworms and improves soil quality, and helps to produce more grass. And more grass helps to sequester more carbon. We are always striving to improve practices that benefit our beef operation while at the same time being good stewards of the land."
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