Durham
Region Beef Farmer Wins 2010 Ontario Pasture Award
February 25, 2010 (Toronto) - The sponsors of the
Ontario Pasture Award - the Ontario Cattlemen’s
Association (OCA), MAPLESEED and the Ontario Forage
Council (OFC) - are pleased to announce that Ryan
Nesbitt of Cedardale Farms, near Nestleton in
Durham Region, is the winner of the 2010 Pasture Award.
The award was presented today at the OCA Annual General
Meeting, in Toronto. For his environmental and pasture
improvements and pasture management, Nesbitt receives a
cash award of $750 and a bag of forage seed plus a
complimentary hotel room for one night at the OCA Annual
Meeting.
Ryan,
Trevor and Scott Nesbitt operate Cedardale Farms
which comprises 1500 acres. Ryan takes the lead role in
the pasture part of the operation and grazes 150
cow/calf pairs and about 20 bred-heifers on 280 acres.
The cows are in groups and are rotationally-grazed on
three different farm locations. Ryan is a strong
believer in intensive rotational systems with most
pasture paddocks consisting of about 10 acres. Water is
piped to each paddock through an above-ground water line
that runs throughout the entire pasture. When the herd
is moved to a new paddock, the water trough is moved
with them.
Nesbitt
comments that, “through intensive management, of our
pastures, we are able to reduce our stored feed and
labour requirements. We have also found that we are able
to improve our herd health by removing them from
traditional confinement housing. All of the factors lend
to the philosophy of a lower cost of production in
maintaining our cow herd, which in turn helps the bottom
line of our family farm”.
Gerritt
Van Keulen, Sales Manager with MAPLESEED, remarks that
the pasture management program being utilized on
Cedardale Farms is a model that not only makes greater
use of pasture resources but is also another good
example of positive environmental practices.
Ray
Robertson, Manager of the Ontario Forage Council, says
“that as producers try to cope with the challenging
times, the practical techniques being followed on
Cedardale Farms are a great example that can help to
maximize the net returns for a number of producers”.
The deadline for
applications for the 2011 Ontario Pasture Award is
November 30, 2010.
For details, call
the Ontario Forage Council at 1-877-892-8663 or visit
either the
Ontario Forage
Council’s Website at www.ontarioforagecouncil.com
For More Information,
Contact:
Ryan Nesbitt,
Cedardale Farms: 905-986-4608
Ray Robertson, Ontario
Forage Council: 1-877-892-8663
Gerrit Van Keulen,
MAPLESEED: 1-519-281-0032 |
