A Grazing Club is a community of rotational graziers who work together to improve the management of their pastures. The number of Grazing Clubs has risen steadily since 1999 when Ducks Unlimited Canada initiated the first Grazing Club Program in the Brandon area. As of June 2007, there are 31 clubs in existence, with others in development.

Clubs hold informal meetings to acquire information on local grazing issues from expert speakers and researchers. Pasture tours are utilized to provide hands-on exposure to new forages, livestock watering systems, and pasture management techniques. Clubs may also provide members with financial incentives to establish forage and develop livestock watering systems.

Look on our Upcoming Events page to see coming events.

Your local Grazing Club can assist you with:

• Grazing management options;
• Pasture design;
• Tame pasture forage mix selection and;
• Water system development.

Through Grazing Clubs financial support may be available to:

• Organize grazing events and workshops;
• Establish grazing demonstrations;
• Convert cropland to tame pasture and;
• Develop livestock watering systems.

Club members have the opportunity to:

• Visit with local cattle producers and tour their pasture systems;
• Explore innovative pasture management techniques;
• Hear the latest from experts and specialists concerning pasture management;
• Discuss local issues and find solutions;
• Attend pasture management courses and conferences; and
• Access grazing library (books, video, audio).

Interested? Select your region on the menu to see if there is a club near you. Then contact the Grazing Club Coordinator or Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Representative for more information.

2008/2009 Provincial Grazing Club Events

Provincial Grazing Clubs Report
By: Rodger Sheldon, MAFRI Pasture & Grassland FPE (Ste. Rose)

There are 31 Grazing Clubs in Manitoba. Some clubs are very active with monthly meetings, some clubs have amalgamated, a few clubs are no longer active and some clubs host only 1 or 2 events per year. There are also 17 Holistic Management Groups, some of which are meeting regularly similar to provincial Grazing clubs. Michael Thiele and Wayne Lenfesty are contracted by Ducks Unlimited to act as Grazing Club Coordinators in the South Parkland and Southwest areas of Manitoba in conjunction with MAFRI and PFRA staff. This area is focusing on farming practices that support the duck population. Some clubs are working with local Conservation Districts as well as  MAFRI and PFRA staff to organize and hold field days and workshops. Funding for all events was provided thru the federal Greencover Program coordinated by PFRA and MFC . MAFRI ( in cooperation with DU, PFRA, MFC and local CD’s) has taken a lead role to organize and hold the following events that occurred in 2008/2009. Grazing Club Coordinators

Michael Thiele: Ph: (204) 759-3309

Wayne Lenfesty Ph: (204) 752-2125

MAFRI Contacts

Please refer to your local MAFRI office for Grazing Club contact information.

The activities of the Grazing Clubs are supported by: Ducks Unlimited Canada, Manitoba Forage Council, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives,  Covering New Ground Program,  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,  Greencover Technical Assistance Program, Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program in partnership with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Soil Conservation Council of Canada, Manitoba Cattle Producers Association and Promark Seed.

Sustainable Grazing Mentorship Program

This program connects experienced graziers with novice producers to help them incorporate best management practices into their operation. The mentor visits you on farm and or by telephone for up to 16 hours (2 days) to help create or modify your exisitng farm plan. The mentor will help with all aspects of forage and livestock production and development. The fee is $100.00. For more information contact Pam Iwanchysko (MAFRI) at (204) 648-3965 or Larry Fischer (MAFRI) at (204) 871-2109. More information is available in the Grazing Mentorship Newsletter.

2008 Pasture Planner Available

Find out how you can make the most of your pasture plan. This free booklet contains valuable information, diagrams, examples & worksheets for you to use to revise or develop your Pasture Plan.

Download interactive spreadsheets and examples and input your figures for your own operation. There  are examples and worksheets for forage establishment, pasture assessment and fencing costs.

Establishment of Perennial Native Grass Species in the Black Soil Zone of Manitoba and Saskatchewan

A project funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Greencover Canada program was carried out over the period of May 2007 to March 2008.

The objectives were to seed six, 40 acre sites (on producers’ land) across the black soil zone in Saskatchewan and Manitoba to perennial native plant blend, providing field scale demonstrations of how cultivated land converted to perennial cover using native plants (grass and forbs) could be successfully integrated into a producer’s land base. Once established, these fields (post-establishment) will be utilized by producers and may be hayed or grazed.  Five sites were sucessfully seeded in the black soil zone across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Some of the uncertainties of these stands will be the agronomic performance relative to tame stands, stand competitiveness to weed pressure, stand longevity and their other uses such as stockpiled feed. Many of these questions will be answered in subsequent years.

Project partners include Ducks Unlimited Canada, Greencover Canada, Manitoba Forage Council and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.

A summary of this project entitled Establishment of Perennial Native Grass Species in the Black Soil Zone of Saskatchewan and Manitoba was developed and made available online.

Click here for an article published by Ducks Unlimited Canada describing the need for this project.

A copy of the final report is also available for download. For further info contact: