Pasture and forage projects get conservation funding nod

Pasture and forage projects get conservation funding nod

Pasture and forage projects were highlighted in the first round of Conservation Trust funding announcements for 2020

Manitoba’s forage and pasture organizations will account for major chunks of the first round of 2020 Conservation Trust funding announcements. Why it matters: One project from the Association of Manitoba Community Pastures and three from the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association make up over $480,000 of the $1.8 million in Conservation Trust funding announced last week. The Association of Manitoba

Pastures have yet to find a spring boost, and as a result, there hasn't been much grass for grazing.

Cool weather slowing pasture growth

Overnight frosts likely didn’t hurt alfalfa stands

Frost and cold weather are delaying hay land and pasture growth this spring — this while some producers with short feed stocks are looking to put cattle out early. On May 13, temperature lows across the province included -8.5 C at Brandon, -8.1 C in Steinbach, and -10.2 C in Dauphin, according to Environment Canada data. “Presently pastures are short and there isn’t


Green Gold canvassing for 2020 alfalfa fields

Green Gold canvassing for 2020 alfalfa fields

The Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association is looking for farmers to submit samples as the Green Gold alfalfa quality program enters its 25th year

The call is out for producers willing to feed data into this year’s Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association Green Gold program. The annual program, which monitors alfalfa quality through May and June, publishes weekly reports on alfalfa crop progress leading up to the first hay cut and is entering its 25th year this season. Why

Manitoba hay production goes well beyond alfalfa — and so should forage insurance, producers say.

Province says mic is open on forage insurance review

The province says it is looking for producer feedback as the first step of its promised forage insurance review

The floor is open for producers to let the province know what they want to see change on forage insurance. The government has launched the first steps of its promised review of forage insurance programs in Manitoba. An online survey is now open at engagemb.ca or available at six Agriculture and Resource Development offices across


cattle

Livestock producers scrambling for feed solutions

DROUGHT Two years of drought has 
the sector scrambling as winter approaches See story pg 6

Producers searching for feed may have to go off the beaten path again this year, as supply concerns mount. The province got little relief from its recent streak of poor forage this year. Most first cuts yielded between 40 to 60 per cent of normal, according to a recent report from the Manitoba Forage and

Clayton Robins is among the few farmers happy about the state of his pastures and hay crops, something he partly credits to his pasture management and integration of alternative grazing on annuals. His take on cover crops has earned him a place in the CFGA’s national carbon sequestration project.

Manitoba forage growers tapped for carbon project

The national project is the next step toward the CFGA’s goal of having farmers paid for storing carbon

Five Manitoba farmers are helping the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) put a value on carbon storage. Ryan Canart of Miniota, Allan Preston of Hamiota, Matt Van Steelandt of Melita, Jonathan Bouw of Anola and Clayton Robins of Rivers are all recognizable names on the grazing, soil health or regenerative agriculture field tour circuits


”The rains are timely. They’re just not big enough.” – Pam Iwanchysko, Manitoba Agriculture.

Almost all of Manitoba declared eligible for livestock tax relief

Low feed supply prompts a second year of tax deferral

Manitoba’s forage shortage will warrant federal tax relief again this year. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has released its first list of regions eligible for the livestock tax deferral program allowing producers to defer income from cattle sales into the following tax year. For many municipalities, it will be the second year in a row for

“Prices (feed barley) are dropping every day it rains,” Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities says.

Feed grain prices in Western Canada slide on weather

Outlook could change if slow crop development leads to frost damage

Improving crop conditions have weighed on western Canadian feed barley prices over the past month as attention turns from the tight old-crop supply situation to the upcoming harvest. “Prices are dropping every day it rains,” Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities in Lethbridge, Alta. said last week. He said barley prices have come off by as


A producer samples standing forage as part of an extension
mineral-testing program.

Mineral nutrition vital for summer cattle grazing programs

Forage testing offers the potential to improve livestock performance and reduce costs

Proper mineral nutrition is important for optimal cattle reproductive performance, milk production, calf weight gain and a strong immune system, according to Janna Block, North Dakota State University Extension livestock specialist at the Hettinger Research Extension Center. Required minerals for livestock are classified into two general groups: micro- and macro-minerals, based on the quantity required.

Rains helped bolster short hayfields in the last week of May, but many fields (such as this one in central Manitoba) still lag behind what is normal for this time of year and many regions are still dry.

Forage forecast gets some good news

Forage got a needed boost in the last week of May, especially in areas that got rain before the temperatures rose

The province got some of its first forage-friendly growing days in the last week of May, but it still may not be enough. This spring was another hard start for hay growers. Cold temperatures and lack of rainfall delayed alfalfa and pasture regrowth, leading the province’s forage experts to put out warnings against premature turnout.