Farming In Manitoba

Dairy

All Manitoba dairy farms market their milk through our national supply management system. Supply Management is a very effective marketing system that maintains the supply of milk to closely match the actual market demand within Canada. Maintaining the supply of milk coming off the farm is accomplished through the issuance of quota to our dairy farmers.

In Manitoba, the dairy quota is issued to our farmers in kilograms of daily butterfat quota that a dairy farmer holds, allows him or her, the opportunity to market approximately 26 litres of milk each and every day. There is no limit to the number of daily kilograms of quota a farmer can hold, but every dairy farmer must have at least 1.0 kilograms of daily butterfat quota to be registered as a milk producer and market milk here in Manitoba. At the end of each month the total kilograms of quota are added together and compared to the total kilograms of daily quota that have been issued within the month. Farmers are paid a domestic price for all the kilograms of butterfat that have been produced in the month within their quota. Any production that is shipped in excess of the total quota for a month is deemed over quota production and a farmer receives no revenue for over quota milk. The production of over quota milk in Canada is strongly discouraged.

If a dairy farmer is unable to fill the total kilograms of quota that have been issued for a particular month, (under quota) the unfilled or unused kilograms of butterfat quota are set aside for the farmer in the form of "Quota Credits" that can be used in a future month. In Manitoba there is a number of quota credits that a farmer can accumulate as quota credits. The unused quota credit limit is set 20 times a farmer's daily quota.

Beef and Sheep Farming

Manitoba's cow herd totals more than 530,000 animals and is the third highest in Canada behind Alberta and Saskatchewan. The province markets in excess of 530,000 beef cattle each year worth over $500 million. An estimated 95% of the commercial operations are cow-calf (sucklers). The other 5% of farms keep backgrounders (stores) or finishing cattle, with varying capacities up to 5,000 head or more. These farms are often contract feeders: the cattle are owned by outside investors (eg. an Alberta feedlot could own some backgrounders that will be sent to Alberta, as soon as they reach 900lbs, to be finished) and the farm operator's are paid per pound of weight gain.

Cow-calf farms vary greatly in the size of herd (50 - 1000+!) and also the style of operation. When buying a beef farm, it's important to consider the actual cow-calf capacity, rather than looking at the number of acres. Some farms are on cultivated land which is sown down to forages and they can be quite intensive with rotational paddock grazing systems. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the extensive ranch, with huge acreages of mainly untouched native grass and trees (bush) and a very low stocking rate. It's usually the case that the ranch owns some better quality land which is used to grow either hay or silage for winter feed, whilst the rough grazing land is rented from the Crown on a very long lease for a reasonable rent. Therefore a ranch can be a cost-effective way to buy a cattle farm without too much capital outlay being spent on the land.

The majority of beef cows start calving in late winter/early spring. Some producers have herds that calve in the autumn too. There are very few dairy/beef cross calves in Manitoba as there are hardly any dairy farms that run beef herds as well. During the coldest part of the winter, the cows are kept outside in corrals (like strawed yards) with windbreak fencing and heated water bowls, or in some bush close to the yard. They are quite comfortable because their coats are dry and usually the sun is shining. A cow will be brought inside to calve, but once the calf is dry and up and sucking, they'll be turned out into the corrals again. Generally, once the spring thaw starts, they're turned out into a small field near the yard and fed there until the grass starts growing. The calves are usually weaned at around 8 months old and sent straight to market, unless the farm has a feedlot to background or finish them. The majority of cattle leave the province to go to Alberta to be finished because that's where the big slaughter plants are located. Most of the slaughter cattle that are finished in Manitoba are shipped to the United States now that the border has reopened, as it's nearer than Alberta.

Sheep farming is not very common in Manitoba. This is partly due to cultural reasons (sheep meat is rarely consumed west of Ontario) and also because the management of sheep flocks is quite intensive. The fencing has to be extremely good to keep the sheep in and the predators (coyotes, wolves, etc.) out! Many sheep farmers use llamas, donkeys or maremma sheep dogs to protect their flocks and bring then all into secure corrals every night. There are local dealers who will buy and sell sheep and lambs, although the majority of finished lambs usually travel east to Montreal or Toronto for slaughter.

Arable Farming

Arable farming is a very important part of Manitoba's agricultural economy. In 2002, farm cash receipts were estimated at $3.83 billion and almost 49.4% of these receipts were derived from crop production.

Southern (agricultural) Manitoba has the climate and soil to grow a wide range of crops, but the "traditional prairie" grain crops of wheat and barley still occupied 39% of the more that 4.6 million hectares of harvested crop area in the province in 2002. Manitoba produces other grains too, such as pats, rye, and mixed grains. Flaxseed has been a relatively important crop since the 1940's, but other oilseed crops, such as canola, sunflowers and soybean, have gained prominence since the early 1970's. In 2002, Manitoba produced 86% of Canada's sunflower seeds. The province is also a major area for the production of specialty crops, plus 62,700 hectares of grain corn (maize) were harvested in Manitoba in 2002. In that year, Manitoba supplied 58% of Canada's buckwheat and 57% of the national dry bean crop. Manitoba's vegetable production has been expanding over the years. The province has more than 185 commercial potato producers, 25 major commercial vegetable producers and about 235 market gardeners who employ about 2,000 full-time and seasonal farm workers. In 2002 35,600 hectares were planted with potatoes and about 1,900 hectares with other vegetables. Production of potatoes, vegetable, fruit, mushrooms, sod (turf), flowers and nursery products was valued at about $220 million in 2002, up by 10%from the previous year.

When buying an arable farm, the most essential factors to take into consideration are soil type and climate. The soils vary widely across the province, from the highly productive heavy clay of the Red River Valley (ideal for wheat) to the fine loamy sands west of Portage la Prairie (perfect for potatoes). Likewise, the climate varies across Manitoba in terms of frost-free days, growing degree days and moisture which can have an impact on the types of crops that can be grown in some areas.

Because it's a short growing season in Manitoba, annual crops have to be sown as soon as possible in the spring, usually the end of April to the middle of May. Some producers seed a portion of their land with winter wheat or rye to spread the workload a little and often have good results, but on the whole most crops are still spring varieties. The land is usually cultivated jus once and zero-till (direct-drilling) is the norm in some areas. Ploughing is very rare unless old grass is being broken up. The local farm input supplier can test the soil and make up a custom blend of fertilizer for each field, which is either applied by the farmer using equipment rented from the supplier or custom applied by the contractors working for the supplier. It's so warm that plants grow extremely quickly - the seeds germinate in about three days and within two or three weeks have reached the growth stages where herbicides are need to be applied. Harvest generally tends to begin in August. Some farmers have started to straight cut after desiccating with glyphosate, but many still swath the crop to assist in even ripening and then combine with a pick-up header. Curiously, yields on the farm are usually measured in bushels, a volume measurement, but then the crops are sold in tonnes! The marketing of produce is a very complex subject, as there are many options available. Most successful arable farmers study the markets carefully and become very skilled at selling the commodities they grow. Top quality wheat and malting barley has to be sold through the Canadian Wheat Board, while other grains can be sold on the open market. Specialty crops and potatoes are usually grown on contract.