North West Manitoba Grazing Clubs

Welcome to the North West Manitoba Grazing Club Page

Interested in new ideas? Interested in learning from the best? Grazing Clubs offer the opportunity to tour enterprises using holistic management techniques, intensive grazing management, extended grazing, new watering and fencing strategies… the list goes on. Clubs also bring in expert speakers who provide insight into forage production, calving, agronomy, saline soils, plant genetics, etc. The bottom line is the Clubs provide a free opportunity for you to learn from experienced graziers and to share your experiences with others.

The clubs in northwestern Manitoba hold meetings throughout the year, sometimes in conjunction with neighbouring Grazing Clubs or Holistic Management Clubs. The number of participants range from 15 – 20 per meeting.

Check out our Upcoming Events page to see if there’s a tour or event you’re interested in attending.

If you would like to learn more or join a Club, please refer to the following table to locate a Club near you.

Read our Past Events Section below to see what Clubs in this region have been doing.

North West Grazing Club Contacts

Northwest Clubs	Grazing Club Name	Grazing Club Coordinator	MAFRI Contacts
Location	.	.	.
Alonsa	Alonsa Grassland Association	.	.
.	.	.	.
Assiniboine Birdtail	Assiniboine Birdtail Club	Michael Thiele (204) 759-3309 mthiele@mts.net	Dolores Muir (204 773-5130 dolores.muir@gov.mb.ca
Grandview/Gilbert Plains	Grand Plains Grazing Club	.	.
Inglis/Roblin	Inglis Grazing Club	.	Elizabeth Nernberg (204) 937-0130
Rorketon	Lawrence Cattleman Co-op	.	.
Meadow Portage	Meadowhen Cattlemen Co-op	.	.
Westlake/Eddystone	Westlake Grazing Club	.	.
Swan River	Swan Valley Grazing Club	.	Stephanie Jersak (204) 734-3417 stephanie.jersak@gov.mb.ca
The Pas/Swan Valley	The Pas Grazing Club	.	Marnie McCracken (204) 627-8255 marnie.mccracken@gov.mb.ca
Winnipegosis	Lake Winnipegosis Grazing Club	.	.

Past Events

Pasture Field Days

June 20 – 22, 2007

A round of similar meetings were held in three locations to increase efficiency in terms of speaker utilization, staff resources and associated costs. Dinner and refreshments were provided by our sponsors; Carl Driedger of Kelln Solar and Brent Benson of Agassiz Feeds. Attendance ranged from 20 to 30 graziers who found the presentations to be of value. The meetings were held at Westlake Grazing Club at Neil Olafson’s farm near the Narrows, the Lake Winnipegosis Grazing Club at Winnipegosis, and the Grand Plains Grazing Club at Gilbert Plains.

Dick Diven, a Nutritionist Consultant from Tucson, Arizona was the key note speaker. He spoke about reducing costs to improve profitability. He focussed on conception and tying breeding seasons with nature and the calendar. These ideas challenge the “norm” and gave producers a “think outside the box” perspective.

Don, Flaten, University of Manitoba, talked about winter feeding and manure management as it relates to regulations and the health and productivity of the land. He engaged the audience by using local examples to facilitate discussion.

Jason Kosowin, PFRA, Saskatoon, spoke about assessing current grazing management techniques and how it may be affecting production and the health of the range. Very knowledgeable re: native plant identification. There were excellent discussions with the graziers.

Carl Driedger, Kelln Solar, Virden, showed an example of a system they sell and gave an overview of options for off site watering and how it relates to grazing management, herd health and productivity. He also spoke about the assistance programs available to fund projects.

Brent Benson, Agassiz Feeds, Dauphin, discussed the mineral needs of breeding cattle during different times of the year (gestation, calving etc), and how deficiencies can affect conception and herd health. He suggested sampling your feed to assess deficiencies and recommended mineral and salt supplementation programs.

See pictures below.

Carl Driedger, Kelln Solar demonstrates watering system.

Jason Kosowin, PFRA, Saskatoon speaks about grazing strategies.

Don Flaten, University of Manitoba speaks about winter feeding and manure management.