Every grower’s needs are different and at BrettYoung, we know that. Some growers deal with wet soils, others with dry, and some deal with a mixture of the two. Some forage crops are grown to feed cow/calf pairs and others for a dairy herd or horses. Whatever your needs, we have a solution with our stock blend portfolio.
BrettYoung has carefully crafted a wide range of stock blends, each of which delivers a high level of productivity over the various environments Western Canadian growers experience. Our stock blends come in three categories: hay blends, pasture blends, and dual-purpose blends.
Why Stock Blends? #
BrettYoung has designed a stock blend targeted to almost every situation you might come across. BrettYoung Alberta Forage Account Manager Kent Price said there should be a blend for almost every need, which makes finding one that works a certainty. Knowing which one to choose, though, is more complicated.
Choosing Your Stock Blend #
We currently have 17 stock blends for growers to choose from, seven of which are SUPER blends. Our SUPER forage blends make choosing a stock blend easier by highlighting our proven performers. With them you can count on high yields, outstanding quality, and persistence that can handle almost all conditions thrown at it.
Price said our SUPER blends are our most popular ones, which shows him they fill the need of the most common perennial forage scenarios in Western Canada, thus earning the “SUPER” title. A good place to start when picking a stock blend, according to him, is our online stock blend selector. From there, you can narrow down which of our 17 blends might work for you due to your immediate needs.
Then, it’s best to ask yourself these questions:
- What is the intended use of the crop? Is it for dry hay, silage, bales, or pasture?
- Which type of animal is going to be eating the crop? Will it be cow/calf pairs, dairy cows, or horses?
- How many cuts do you want out of the crop?
- When do you want the feed from this crop to be available?
- What type of soil are you seeding in?
- Does the field have drainage issues making the soil wet or dry? Does it have salinity issues? Does it have pH issues?
Once you know the answers to these, picking the right stock blend for your farm becomes easier. Price said talking to your local BrettYoung Regional Account Manager (RAM) to further narrow down your options is the best way to ensure you get the blend you need.
Other Considerations #
Your intended use of the crop and its soil type aren’t the only things you need to consider when choosing a stock blend. Price said it’s important to understand seed size to avoid big problems.
For example, a blend with high brome content can have issues with flowability as the larger seed acts like a box of nails, bridging together and flowing unevenly, ruining seeding distribution. A blend with a lot of smaller seed, like Timothy, can have the opposite effect where the seeds are so small, they can settle at the bottom and distribute unevenly that way.
“All blends aren’t equal,” said Price. “So, your seeding rate will be affected too. The larger the seed, the higher the seeding rate.”
Creating a Custom Blend #
Price knows a lot of growers that love a particular BrettYoung stock blend but want to change just one part of it. Luckily, we also offer custom blends, which gives you the option to create your own mix. You can tweak an existing blend or create one from scratch. Either way, Price recommends still talking to your RAM about it to ensure you get exactly what you need. They’ll help you create the perfect blend and do all the legwork to get it made for you.
To learn more about BrettYoung’s stock blends, go to brettyoung.ca/stock-blend-selector.
