The Forage Symposium is an extension of Grazing School and Beef and Forage Days. It was developed in 2004 to focus on the questions producers have in more detail. Over the years, the topics covered by speakers have included silage, feed quality, export hay, forage utilization and livestock production.

2011 Forage Symposium Program
2011 Manitoba Forage Symposium Proceedings

2009 Manitoba Forage Symposium Proceedings

February 18, 2009

After a one year absence, forage growers gathered at the Forage Symposium south of Winnipeg, in Morris, Manitoba to gain some insight into a number of issues. Here’s a brief overview of a few speakers.

Ed Shaw provided information on the state of the international forage markets and the impact that the recession is having on global credit. Banks are not recognizing bank’s letters of credit from another country, therefore non-payment issues are moving to the forefront. He also noted that the tumbling price of milk in the U.S. is having a major impact on dairy producers. This is causing cash flow issues and softening the dairy hay market. Recession has also resulted in horses being abandoned (turned loose) on U.S. grazing reserves (crown land) because their owners cannot afford to purchase feed and the U.S. law prohibiting slaughter of horses, has reduced hay demand in the horse market. As well, feed stores are going bankrupt – he outlined a story of 2 feed stores in Colorado closing their doors due to substantial declines in business and increased accounts receivables and bad debt.

Participants also were engaged by Bill Drew’s vision for developing Churchill as a provider of forages to the world. Drew, Executive Director of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation shared his thoughts regarding rail and water transportation development out to the Port of Churchill.

John McGregor provided a great summary of 14 years worth of data on using various tools to predict hay quality prior to harvest. For more information, contact John at MAFRI, (204) 371-1759.

2007 Manitoba Forage Symposium Proceedings

Please scroll down the page to see the list of presentations from the 2007 Manitoba Forage Symposium. All copies are in PDF format. The power point presentations have been converted to black and white when possible to minimize the size of the file and to increase downloading time.

2006 Manitoba Forage Symposium Proceedings

1. Ensiling, Tim McAllister
2. Claas Chopper Clinic, Darrel King
3. Claas Chopper Clinic Continued
4. Baled Silage, Larry Grasley
5. Silage Preservatives, Joel Bagg, Silage Swath Management, Tom Kilcer
6. Round-up Ready Alfalfa, Varieties That Pay, Ray Smith
7. Round-up Ready Alfalfa Continued
8. Herbicides, Kim Nielson
9. Gopher Control, Melanie Dubois, Alfalfa Fractionation, Kelly Beaulieu
10. Opportunities for Hay Producers, Ray Smith
11. Hay Market Update, Alvin Penner