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This field of alfalfa in Manitoba’s Interlake on June 12 got a boost with recent precipitation, but many forage crops are stunted due to cool temps and very dry soils this season.
Forages, News

Cream of alfalfa crop to come up short

Dairy producers anticipate alfalfa shortfall as high quality first cut approaches

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Growers targeting high quality alfalfa are typically rolling by mid-June, but this year’s dairy quality hay might involve a lot of driving for little yield. David Wiens, chair of the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, said he expects stand quality to be high, but that yield will likely to fall shy of normal. Alfalfa crops, “look
Pasture records can be critical to making informed choices in a year with drought conditions.
Forages, Livestock

Pasture records key tool in drought decision-making

Hard management decisions only get harder if the farmer only has a ballpark figure on pasture supplies

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Knowing exactly what you can expect out of a pasture can put producers on better footing when making hard management choices during drought, producers and grazing experts say. If the season continues as it has been so far, despite May rains across the Prairies, there will be hard decisions in plenty. Most land in Manitoba
“Rest and recovery is very important and that can increase forage production significantly.” – Shawn Cabak.
Forages, News

Rescuing future forage

One livestock expert has some tips on jump-starting new stands and squeezing production out of Manitoba’s currently stressed forage lands

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No one can change the weather but producers may still be able to limit the hit to hayfields, if not for this year, then at least in the future. Manitoba’s livestock and forage producers seem poised for yet another year where dry weather takes centre stage. Shawn Cabak, livestock and forage specialist with the province,
Silage is one way to make the most of annual forage crops during a dry year.
Crops, Forages

Making the case for annual forages

With another dry year looming, producers may want to do whatever they can to set their annual forages up for success

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A season staring at drought conditions is no year to leave feed on the table, and producers may want a more deliberate plan to make the most of their annuals. After three years of short pastures, producers will be used to the province urging them to consider annuals for feed. Greenfeed has been an often-repeated
Converting marginal cropland to grass has 
found new backers for Ducks Unlimited.
Forages, News

DUC forage program brings in the green

A DUC program trying to pitch a return from crop to forage is getting financial help from Cargill and McDonald’s Canada

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Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has gained some big corporate names backing its Forage Program. In late March, Cargill and McDonald’s Canada, along with DUC, announced $5 million to transition a target 125,000 acres of less productive farmland from annual crops to forage or pasture by 2025. The companies have said they will provide $1.25 million
Ponds in central Manitoba, normally swollen with snowmelt, were far below the high-water mark in early April.
Forages, News

Manitoba’s hay market up in the air

Forage shortfalls are still very much on the table for this year, but how short and how that will impact hay prices is still a big unknown

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Those watching the hay market are holding their breath, and keeping a close eye on the long-range forecast, as the clock starts ticking on the province’s potential forage harvest. Manitoba’s bone-dry start has had both forage experts and producers concerned the province may be in for another season like 2019 — when low yields and
Percentage of average precipitation in Western Canada for the 90 days ending April 5, 2021. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada map)
Crops, Forages, Weather

Manitoba forage, grassland growers burned by drought

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MarketsFarm — An ongoing lack of precipitation, which is showing no signs of letting up in the coming months according to weather forecasts, is already causing problems for Manitoba’s forage and grasslands. Growers in the province have had to deal with three straight years with lower-than-normal precipitation. In 2019, multiple rural municipalities in Manitoba’s Parkland
ABOVE: Little snow remains on fields near Brandon in mid-March.
Crops, Farmit Manitoba, Other

Manitoba farmers confronted with a dry spring

Much of agro-Manitoba is sitting at 30 per cent or less of normal precipitation since November, and that’s not counting the dry fall beforehand

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Agro-meteorologists have good news and bad news. The good news is: chances are you’re getting onto your field early this spring — in fact, the first reports of field work in central Manitoba have already started trickling in over social media. The bad news is: those worries you had about a dry spring are coming
Forage insurance changes arrive for spring
Forages, News

Forage insurance changes arrive for spring

Weather warning flags this spring may merit giving the province’s revised forage insurance a closer look

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With another dry spring in the offing, it might be time to reconsider forage insurance in view of recent program changes. Those changes follow a forage insurance review completed last year. The province had announced the review in late 2019, following critically poor hay yields and widespread reports of feed shortfalls. The shortfalls led to
The Green Gold forage monitoring program is seeking producer participants for its annual hay day quest.
Forages, News

Green Gold calling out for Manitoba alfalfa growers

The yearly hay quality monitoring program is ramping up again for 2021, and organizers are calling out for grower participation

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The Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) is once again on the hunt for producers to fill out its roster for this year’s Green Gold program. The association is looking for producers willing to tap their fields for regular hay samples, which will then feed into the alfalfa quality monitoring program. Why it matters: Alfalfa growers, particularly those

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