Over the past 150 years, between 75 – 90% of Canadian grasslands have been lost, making it one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth. With the current rising cost of inputs, exit of beef producers from the industry, and high commodity prices, the risk of grassland lost remains a significant concern.  Enter the MFGA / DU partnership, supported by Nutrien Ag Solutions, the McDonalds/Cargill partnership and funding from the Conservation Trust. 

Financial incentives are available to MB producers to assist with the cost of establishing forages.  Whether the goal is to provide feed for livestock, add forage to your cropping rotation, or restore trouble spots within your annually cropped fields to forage, our unique suite of forage programs can help to alleviate some of the financial burden associated with forage establishment. 

The Forage Program targets field scale plantings and has two term options available – 10 year (30 acre minimum) for up to $70/ac or 15 year (75 acre minimum) with rotation option for up $110/ac. 

The Marginal Areas Program (MAP) targets areas within annually cropped fields that producers are seeing a negative return on investment due to poor yields resulting from poor soil conditions, periodic flooding, inaccessibility, and/or salinity. Payment for the MAP program is $125/ac and there is no acre minimum to qualify.

With both programs, forage acres are secured under a pro-rated term agreement and there are no restrictions on how farmers can use the forage – haying and grazing both permitted with no cut date restrictions implemented.  

DU has been delivering a forage incentive program for the past 11 years and has assisted producers in restoring nearly 30,000 acres of forage to the landscape in SW MB. In partnership with the leading forage advocacy group in Manitoba - the MFGA – word has spread fast about this program.

Despite flood conditions this spring in many areas of the province, many of the forage acres enrolled in the program were seeded this spring. Grain farmers are realizing the true cost of farming marginal areas of annually cropped fields and as such, uptake in the MAP program in 2022 far exceeded expectations. DUC delivery staff are busy signing contracts and getting payments out to producers. We are on par to achieving the goals set out in the proposal and as a result, more than $285k will be put into the pockets of Manitoba forage producers for the restoration of cultivated acres to perennial forage.

For questions: 
Forage Program: Alex Griffiths (204) 868-0514
Marginal Areas Program (MAP): Charlotte Crawley (204) 868-5599