Environmental Scan of the Manitoba and Saskatchewan Forage Industry

The development of export forage markets is a key priority for the Manitoba Forage Council (MFC) and the Saskatchewan Forage Council (SFC) and there is a desire to work with the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation to develop opportunities to use the Port of Churchill for hay exports.

The purpose of this project was to provide an environmental scan of the Manitoba and Saskatchewan forage industry including the potential for greater exports to world markets, as well as to assess the potential transportation costs and logistical challenges.  This included a review of Manitoba and Saskatchewan’s ability to produce, process and export their forages to global markets.  Two significant components of the study were to determine strategic locations for establishing processing facilities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and transportation considerations, such as equipment and routes.

The market scan reviewed current transportation costs, logistical challenges, and whether they are a hindrance to accessing a greater global market share. The Port of Churchill was investigated to access whether or not it could provide an economical transportation alternative to forage exports.

Summary of Environmental Scan
Final Report – Environmental Scan – Oct 28 30 2011
CFGA Newsletter – Feb 2012 – Overview & comments from Stakeholders

Long Term International Forage & Grassland Marketing Strategy (June 28, 2010)

The first project undertaken by the CFGA was a multi-level analysis of the existing industry and the development of a Long Term International Forage Marketing Strategy. In the Strategic Plan, June 2010, Tyrchniewicz Consulting determined that Canada is well poised to capture more of the U.S. export market, however, there are a number of barriers that must be addressed to do so, namely: transportation costs, currency rates, protocols, energy costs and market demands.

Overview Middle East Mission CFGA

As part of the multi-level analysis, an information seeking mission to United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia was carried out in March 2010. This mission gave the seven Canadian Forage and Grassland representatives and the importing country forage industry representatives an opportunity to exchange necessary information to improve each other’s understanding of the market place, and the requirements of the importing countries. The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association would like to thank the members of the following organizations for their assistance and support during the Fact Finding Mission and preparation of this Forage Market Assessment and Report of the Saudi Arabian forage and livestock sector.

• The Manitoba Forage Council;
• The Saskatchewan Forage Council;
• The Alberta Forage Alliance;
• The Ontario Forage Council;
• The Quebec Forage Council;
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the Agri-Marketing Program
• And the producers and industry representatives that participated in the Fact Finding Mission and provided input into the final report.

Update on Market Access for the Export of Canadian Alfalfa Hay to China

In the summer of 2009, Canada and China signed an agreement committing both countries to work on finalizing a plant health certification protocol that would provide China with the necessary assurance that their plant health import requirements would be met on alfalfa hay exports from Canada.  Two experts from China’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) travelled to Canada in late summer of 2009 to gain an overview of alfalfa hay production and processing in Canada, in addition to the Canadian plant health export certification system.