A coalition of farm groups is asking Manitoba producers to consider all options before harvesting a drought-damaged crop this summer.
“Successive droughts in some regions of the province have taxed livestock producers’ ability to secure feed, so being able to source alternative feed and roughage sources is critical,” said Manitoba Beef Producers president Tyler Fulton.
“Producers with damaged crops should consider salvaging as much feed as possible.”
Manitoba Beef Producers, Keystone Agricultural Producers, the Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association, the Manitoba Crop Alliance, the Manitoba Bison Association and the Manitoba Sheep Association are working together on this issue to ensure that a portion of the poor crops are harvested as green feed or silage.
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The feed is needed because the first-cut hay crop produced yields that were below average or terrible, and a second cut seems unlikely in much of Manitoba.
“Hay yields quite poor; vary from 10 to 25 percent of normal,” the Manitoba Agriculture crop report said when describing the Interlake region.
“Pasture growth is not keeping up to livestock requirements, and up to 15 percent of hayland has not been cut because of no salvageable growth.”
The coalition is encouraging farmers to contact the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp., the provincial crop insurer, and consider using wheat, oats and other crops for feed.
MASC has information on its website on what grain farmers need to do if they plan to harvest a crop for an alternative use. Ideally, an insurance adjuster should appraise the crop before it is used for greenfeed or silage, but there are other options.
For more content related to drought management visit The Dry Times, where you can find a collection of stories from our family of publications as well as links to external resources to support your decisions through these difficult times.
