Livestock farmers testing new AAFC alfalfa variety on Atlantic farms

Twelve livestock farmers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island are assessing a new variety of alfalfa created by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research scientist Dr. Yousef Papadopoulos. Now that the variety is officially gearing up to be released to farmers across Canada, Dr. Papadopoulos says testing the seed on working farms will provide some valuable insight as to how the new variety of alfalfa can withstand various soils across the Atlantic provinces.

Alfalfa is considered the “the queen of forage crops”. It is used by livestock farmers as a feed for their animals, as it provides animals with high nutrition, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. It is not only a delicious choice for livestock but also benefits the environment. Alfalfa takes nitrogen from the air and converts it into a form that plants can use as food in the soil, through a process called nitrogen fixation. This natural process of increasing soil nitrogen improves soil quality without the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers that can lead to groundwater contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. Alfalfa naturally does this through bacteria that can be found in their roots and in the soil.

Although farmers prefer feeding alfalfa to their livestock, growing it can be challenging as it requires soils that have appropriate pH levels. As a result, much of the land across Canada is unsuitable for growing this forage crop. Dr. Papadopoulos, from AAFC’s Nappan Research Farm, has spent 15 years perfecting a new alfalfa variety that addresses this issue. His new variety can withstand more acidic soils while still being very productive.

“While the new variety may not visually look different, farmers will notice a big difference as they will be able to get more harvest out of the variety. They will notice how tolerant this variety is to acidic soils.”

- Dr. Yousef Papadopoulos, research scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

In partnership with provincial agricultural representatives, Dr. Papadopoulos started on-farm trials with livestock producers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Farmers will have the opportunity to provide Dr. Papadopoulos with feedback on the new variety, which will help accelerate the commercialization process. Dr. Papadopoulos hopes that the variety will become available to farmers across the country within the next few years.

The name for the new variety has not yet been chosen, but Dr. Papadopoulos is known to pay tribute to his colleagues when he releases any new variety of forage. Over his career, he has released 6 forage legumes including birdsfoot trefoil, red clover and alfalfa forage crop varieties for livestock farmers and has collaborated on many others. He says paying tribute to his colleagues helps to recognize them for all their contributions to the agricultural sector.

Photo gallery

Dr. Yousef Papadoplous and his research technician, Matt Crouse and student Alanna De Boer.

A field of a new variety of alfalfa developed by Dr. Yousef Papadopoulos, AAFC.

Brian Trueman, owner of Thunderbrook Farms in Amherst, Nova Scotia, is testing the new alfalfa variety developed by Dr. Papadopoulos from AAFC.