Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development is advising that due to dry conditions in parts of the province over the past few years, livestock producers will temporarily be allowed to cut hay on Crown lands not normally designated for agricultural use. Non-agricultural Crown lands can be made available for agricultural use, under certain circumstances. The Agricultural… Read More

A two-year pilot project that will demonstrate grasslands’ carbon-storing power was announced last week by the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association. The project is a follow-up to a previous one, run through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agriculture Greenhouse Gases program. “We developed the first carbon offsets protocol applicable to Canadian grasslands,” says Cedric MacLeod, executive… Read More

Both the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) and Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) are urging producers in Manitoba to list available hay, straw, and alternative feeds in the wake of dry conditions, and lower-than-expected forage and hay yield reports. “Given dry conditions reported across much of the province, we feel that it is important to ensure producers… Read More

Retiring alfalfa fields used to be a simple process. Conventional tillage farmers would just drop the mouldboard plow in the fall, while those under a minimum tillage system would rely on a glyphosate burndown before planting a new crop the following spring. With the introduction of glyphosate tolerant (GT) alfalfa, however, glyphosate is no longer… Read More

In mid September, the federal government announced the list of prescribed regions eligible for drought-related livestock tax deferral. The break was welcomed, however ranchers and producer groups criticized the government’s approach, saying it left out too many drought-affected producers. Announced October 31st, the federal government says it is taking steps to answer some of that… Read More