Livestock must be removed when forage is exhausted or by Oct. 31
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Manitoba’s government is allowing farmers to use some Crown land because of dry conditions in areas of the province.
On Friday, Manitoba Agriculture announced that “livestock producers will temporarily be allowed to cut hay and allow animals to graze on Crown land not normally designed for agricultural use.”
The Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing Program will manage the use of available land and provide farmers with proper permits. Livestock must be removed “when the naturally existing forage is exhausted or by Oct. 31,” the provincial ag ministry said. And farmers must remove baled hay by Nov. 15.
Most of the affected areas are “abnormally dry,” Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Drought Monitor says.
Manitoba also has pockets of moderate and extreme drought.
“We had identified these concerns to the Manitoba government on behalf of our producers,” Tom Teichroeb, president of Manitoba Beef Producers, said in a statement Monday. “This announcement will provide an important option for producers who require additional feed options and we thank the government for making this available.”
In addition, Manitoba Agriculture is asking farmers to help one another by making crop residue available to beef farmers.
“I know there are many beef producers who would welcome those kinds of conversations,” Teichroeb said.
Farms.com has reached out to Manitoba Beef Producers for further comment and to Manitoba Agriculture for information about how producers access the Crown lands.