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Winnipeg, MB (DATE) - Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association (MFGA) will join forces with the Manitoba Wildlife Branch and the Manitoba Important Bird Area (IBA) Program to explore the benefits of regenerative agriculture to birds on four different farm operations this year.
“This is an exciting partnership project for MFGA,” said Lawrence Knockaert, MFGA chair and dairy farmer from Bruxelles, Manitoba. “Increasingly as we focus on the soil health benefits of regenerative agriculture practices, more and more producers are getting interested in some of the benchmarks on their farms. Here we will look at four different regen ag-focused farms from dairy, forage/beef, grain and mixed farms that are owned by MFGA board members to get benchmarks around bird populations, specifically how the birds are interacting with or responding to the respective regen ag farming practices.”
Knockaert points to the front-end collaborations between farmers and bird experts as a significant process MFGA is very interested in via pre-survey conversations between farmers and bird experts.
“Each farm will be consulted beforehand as part of an information gathering exercise,” said Knockaert. “This consultation will include introducing the surveyors to the farmer’s on-farm knowledge and direction on survey areas and information on the history of management on the land as well as current practices.”
Led by Tim Poole, the Manitoba Wildlife Branch will conduct surveys on the four farms all within the Assiniboine West and Souris Watershed Districts.
“We will use point counts, a standard method of monitoring bird abundance,” says Poole. “During a single point count, all birds present, either seen or heard, within a five minute fixed time period are noted. The exact area selected for counting will be decided ahead of time in consultation with the farmers and the total number of points will be determined on a site-by-site basis during the monitoring period.”
Data collected will include a record of each species detected, number of individuals, distance from observer and a breeding code. Any species detected or not detected during a timed count will be recorded to ensure each producer receives a full species list for their property. Target species include species at risk such as Bobolink and Sprague’s Pipit.
“We can use this data to calculate the abundance per point count for each species,” said Poole. “This data will be used to demonstrate the importance of different regenerative agricultural systems for various bird species.”
Each producer will receive a report of results, including map of points and location of species of interest. A report will also be presented to MFGA and presented at the 2023 MFGA Regenerative Agriculture Conference outlining the overall results.
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For more info:
Duncan Morrison, MFGA Executive Director, Duncan@mfga.net, 204.770.3548
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