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Tame Hay: Manitoba livestock producers have been using native hay and pasture since homesteading in the province began. The first recorded production of tame or cultivated hay was in 1908, when 215,000 tons of hay were produced from 119,000 acres. The crop was priced at $7.40 per ton for a total value of $1.6 million. As cattle numbers increased in the 1920s, so did the area of tame hay, which was slightly over 200,000 acres until 1927 when the area doubled. The area of tame hay increased to around one million acres in the 1960s rising to 1.9 million acres during the years, 1992 to 1997, and to over two million acres from 1998 to 2003. Adverse weather conditions in many areas of the province in 1997 reduced hay yields to an average of 0.85 tons per acre, the lowest in 40 years. Less than ideal conditions in 2003 resulted in yields of 1.1 tons per acre, 24 percent below the ten-year average yield of 1.4 tons per acre. Hay production in 2003 was estimated at 2.35 million tons, slightly below the 2002 crop, but a drop of 32 percent from the 2001 crop. A record average yield of 2.37 ton per acre was recorded in 1986, but tame hay production peaked in 1990 at 4 million tons. About 75 percent of Manitoba’s hay is used for beef production with about 25 percent comprised of various dairy-quality hays. Manitoba produced about 9.5 percent of the Canadian tame hay crop in 2003, down from 15.4 percent in 2001.
Average tame hay prices declined from $59 per ton for the 1997 crop to about $50 per ton from 1998 to 2000, but rose to a record $68 per ton in 2002 due to a shortage of hay on the Prairies due to drought. The last time prices were over $60 per ton was during the drought years 1980 and 1988. The total value of the Manitoba tame hay crop was highest in 1993, at $192.8 million, making it the third most valuable crop in the province that year after wheat and canola. In 1997, due to significantly reduced yields, the hay value of $94.4 million was the lowest level since 1975, but the value increased annually to $187.1 million in 1999. The smaller 2000 crop led to a drop in hay production value to $149.7 million, but the value rose to $186.3 million in 2001. The value declined to $161.6 million in 2002.
Estimated operating expenses for tame hay production rose from $80.25 per acre in 1997 to $80.83 per acre in 1999, but declined to $78.42 per acre in 2000. Expenses increased to $89.61 per acre in 2001, declined to $85.21 in 2002, but rose to $93.12 per acre in 2003.
Forage Seeds: The first record of commercial forage seed production in Manitoba was in 1936 when the crop was valued at $108,000. The interest in forage seed production grew and by 1979 the crop was valued at over $8 million. Crop area, production and prices varied over the next fifteen years. The crop value went from $14.1 million in 1987 down to a low of $2.4 million in 1993. In 2002, a near record 29.8 million pounds of forage seed, valued at $19.9 million, were marketed from an area of about 142,800 acres. Alfalfa seed sales (pollinated by alfalfa leafcutting bees) were valued at $8.8 million in 2002, followed by Timothy seed at $3.7 million, Rye Grass seed at $2.6 million and all Fescues at $1.5 million. Smaller amounts of Birdsfoot Trefoil, Bromegrass, Creeping Bentgrass, Crested Wheatgrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Reed Canary Grass, Red Clover and Sweet Clover seed are also grown in Manitoba. Manitoba produces about 30-40 percent of the forage seed marketed by Manitoba companies.
Pasture: In 2001, there were 3,905,200 acres of unimproved, native pasture and hayland in the province, down from 4,326,000 acres in 1991. Improved pastureland increased from 843,000 acres in 1991 to 947,600 acres in 2001.
Most of the Manitoba tame hay crop is used for beef and dairy cattle production in the province with small amounts being used for other ruminant species, such as sheep, goats, deer, elk and bison. Only a small portion of the crop is sold out of the province as hay. Some excellent dairy-quality alfalfa and alfalfa-mix hay is exported to the U.S. Hay is sold from farm to farm, from surplus areas of the province to deficit areas. A hay listing service is provided by Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives.
Some of Manitoba’s alfalfa and Timothy hay is sold to pelleting and compacting plants. Annual farm cash receipts from the sector reflect only recorded exports of the hay crop, which generally are under-reported. Cash receipts from hay only were estimated at $20.0 million in 2001 and $20.2 million in 2002. Cash receipts from forage seed sales have been revised to better reflect Manitoba-origin forage seed exports. Receipts increased from $14.9 million in 1997 to $17.9 million in 1999, declined to $13.5 million in 2001, but increased to $18.5 million in 2002. Manitoba’s contribution to Canadian forage seed receipts rose from 19.2 percent in 1997 to 26.6 percent in 2002.
There are two main processors of alfalfa into pellets and meal, Alfalfa Products Ltd. in Fort Whyte (Winnipeg) and Coldstream Alfalfa Processing, Ltd. in Dauphin.
Several compacting plants were operational in 2002-03, including Sunridge Forage Ltd. in Russell and Canadian Greenfield Forage in Teulon. These plants compact Timothy hay mainly for the Japanese and Korean markets. It is estimated that Timothy hay sales to these two countries in 2002 had a farm-gate value of about $5.5 million. Lake Winnipeg Hay Co. in Fisher Branch is no longer in operation. The equipment from the plant has been moved to Dauphin where it is being used by a new company, Intermountain Forage Ltd., which began processing crop in the fall of 2003.
Exports of hay to the United States are comprised mainly of high-quality alfalfa and alfalfa-mix bales for the dairy industry. The dairy states in the United States have been reducing their hay area in recent years, which provides an opportunity for Manitoba exporters of high-quality hay. Smaller quantities of higher-valued compressed hay were sold to 6 countries in 2002, including Japan, South Korea, Argentina and the United States. Total 2002 hay exports amounted to $7.9 million, down from $8.1 million the year before.
Exports of alfalfa pellets and meal, mainly to Japan and the United States, totalled $10.4 million in 2002, up significantly from $0.03 million in 1999.
Forage seed export data for Manitoba include seed from other western provinces and small amounts of imported seed. Forage seed exports increased from $17.4 million in 1993 to $41.4 million in 2000, but decreased to $36.3 million and $31.2 million in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Of 20 countries which purchased forage seeds from Manitobabased companies in 2002, the United States was Manitoba’s most important customer, buying $21.7 million or 70 percent.
Thirteen countries supplied Manitoba companies with forage seeds valued at $3.8 million in 2002, the largest supplier being the United States. This was down from $6.7 million in 1999. Small quantities of hay were also imported from the U.S. in 2002.
|
|
1999R
|
2000R
|
2001R
|
2002R
|
2003p
|
’03 as a % of ‘02
|
|
Number of Farms with Hay/Forage
|
14,250
|
14,500
|
14,625
|
14,600
|
14,600
|
100
|
|
TAME HAY PRODUCTION:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seeded Area (’000 acres):
|
2,135
|
2,170
|
2,300
|
2,300
|
2,225
|
97
|
|
% of Canada
|
12.7
|
12.3
|
12.1
|
12.1
|
12
|
|
|
Harvested Area (’000 acres):
|
1,980
|
2,070
|
2,215
|
2,025
|
2125
|
105
|
|
Yield (tons/acre):
|
1.94
|
1.52
|
1.6
|
1.2
|
1.101.1
|
92
|
|
Production (’000 tons):
|
3,750
|
3,000
|
3,450
|
2,375
|
2,350
|
99
|
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% of Canada
|
13.8
|
12
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15.4
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11.9
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9.5
|
|
|
Average Price ($/ton):
|
50
|
50
|
54
|
68
|
|
|
|
VALUE OF PROD’N ($ million):
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187.1
|
149.7
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186.3
|
161.6
|
|
|
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EST. OP. EXPENSES ($/acre):
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80.83
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78.42
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89.61
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85.21
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93.12
|
109
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|
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1999R
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2000R
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2001R
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2002R
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|
CASH RECEIPTS ($ million):
|
16.1
|
18.3
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20
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20.2
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% of Canada
|
9.3
|
9
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9.4
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8.7
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FORAGE SEED PRODUCTION:
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|
|
|
|
|
Harvested Area (’000 acres):
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100.9
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117.4
|
129
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142.8
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|
Yield (lb/acre):
|
202
|
238
|
232
|
208
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Marketings (’000 lb):
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20,360
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28,000
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29,890
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29,750
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Average Price ($/lb):
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0.88
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0.57
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0.45
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0.67
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VALUE OF PROD’N ($ million):
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17.9
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16
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13.5
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19.9
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CASH RECEIPTS ($ million):
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17.9
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19.2
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13.5
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18.5
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% of Canada
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22.5
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23.1
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23.7
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26.6
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IMPROVED PASTURE (’000 acres):
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900
|
900
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948
|
950
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|
NATIVE PASTURE (’000 acres):
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4,000
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3,950
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3,905
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3,900
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EXPORTS ($ million):
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43.4
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47.3
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48.5
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49.4
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|
Hay
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3.2
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5.6
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8.1
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7.9
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Alfalfa Pellets and Meal
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0.03
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0.3
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4.1
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10.4
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Forage Seeds
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40.2
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41.4
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36.3
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31.2
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IMPORTS ($ million):
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6.8
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6.12
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4.11
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4.29
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Hay
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0.08
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0.05
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0.26
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0.51
|
|
Alfalfa Pellets and Meal
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0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Forage Seeds
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6.72
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6.07
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3.85
|
3.78
|
