Frequently Asked Questions

Agricultural Crown Land Leases and Permits Regulation, Amendment

June 2023

The Government of Manitoba is amending the Agricultural Crown Lands Leases and Permits Regulation to improve the productivity of Agricultural Crown Land (ACL) and better meet the needs of ACL leaseholders, Manitoba’s livestock sector, and Indigenous communities and organizations. Information on this page reflects the ACL leasing program in accordance with the proposed amendments.

Q. What effect will the changes have on my current lease?

A. None. All current leases maintain all expiry dates, rental rates, permissions, obligations, terms and conditions as when they were issued. The changes to the regulation will provide current leaseholders with increased flexibility to transfer a lease or nominate the next leaseholder, and an option to extend the term of new system lease.

Q. What is the difference between a legacy lease and new system lease?

A. A legacy lease is a lease issued before October 2019 and a new system lease is a lease issued after October 2019. See the table below.

Legacy Lease New System Lease

Lease Term

Length

Expires at age 65, but renewable in 15 year terms after age 65. Essentially a lifetime lease.

Renewable Yes, in 15 year terms

Extendable No, extensions are not required as this type of lease is renewable.

Transfer to Family Yes, leaseholders can transfer to immediate family members only.

Transfer outside of Family

No, leaseholders cannot transfer outside of immediate family members. As proposed, the amendment would allow leaseholder to nominate non-family members for a new system lease, but not a legacy lease

15 year lease term.

No, new system leases are not renewable.

Yes, the proposed amendment would provide an option to extend to 20 years with an approved Forage Management Plan

Yes, currently available to transfer to immediate family for remainder of 15-year lease. The proposed amendment would allow possibility of 5-year extension.

Yes, for remainder of 15-year lease term. The proposed amendment would allow possibility of 5-year extension.

How do I get one?

Manitoba no longer issues Legacy leases. The only way to access a legacy lease is through an immediate in family transfer.

Manitoba’s current method of issuing leases is through auction or transfer from another new system leaseholder, or nomination by a legacy leaseholder.

Q. Does the amendment allow me to sublet my lease to another producer?

A. No. There are no proposed changes to allow subletting. As proposed leaseholders will continue to be required to be actively involved in the day-to-day management of livestock and forage. Custom grazing continues to be permitted. The difference is in the active management of the lease where the leaseholder is required to be at the property checking or moving cattle, fixing fence, monitoring forage stand health etc.

Q. Does status on the leaseholder ban list impact decisions made on applications to extend, transfer or nominate?

A. Under Section 18.1 of the current regulation, the director may prohibit a person, band, or organization from participating in an auction or decline to receive an application from a person, band or organization for an ACL lease or permit for a period not longer than five years. Through operational policy, if Manitoba determines that a leaseholder:

 is not actively farming,

 is not maintaining the sustainability of the parcel for farming,

 provides false/misleading information to the department, or

 does not pay their lease or permit fees, the leaseholder is put on a leaseholder ban list for two years which restricts participation in an auction or results in denying their application. As a result, a leaseholder’s status on the ban list would also restrict their ability to transfer, extend, nominate, or renew a lease or permit.

Q. Can I prevent the public from accessing parcels of leased or permitted Agricultural Crown Lands?

A. No. The amendments do not affect public access rights. The public can access ACL under lease. The public cannot disturb livestock or disrupt farm and ranch operations.

Determining Land Productivity

Q. What is an AUM?

A. AUM stands for Animal Unit Month. AUMs are the basis for determining forage capacity of each ACL parcel as determined by Manitoba Agriculture. The goal is to place the optimum number of animals on each parcel for the forage it can produce, thereby ensuring efficiency while leaving enough forage for quick and complete recovery.

An Animal Unit Month (AUM) is the amount of forage required by one animal unit (AU) for one month. One animal unit is equal to 1,000 lb (450 kg) beef cow with or without a nursing calf with a daily intake requirement of 26 lb. (11.8 kg) of dry matter forage.

The stocking rate of the parcel is based on two factors a) time on pasture, and b) number of animal units. For example, a parcel capable of producing enough forage for 40 AUMs, could sustain 10, 1,000 lb beef cows (AU) for 4 months (10 cows x 4 months = 40 AUMs). Generally, cows are larger than this and one cow may account for greater than one AUM. If the cows are equivalent to 1.3 AU, the same parcel may only support seven or eight cows for the same four-month period.

For the same parcel, an alternative grazing plan may have cows on the parcel for only one month. If the cows are equivalent to one AU, then 40 cows can be grazed for the month, if they are 1.3 AU.

Although simplified, the parcel in each example is capable of producing 40 AUMs.

Q. When is forage capacity of a parcel determined? Can I request a review of the AUMs on my lease?

A. Manitoba Agriculture reviews are done at the time of allocation or renewal. Any improvements to forage productivity because of management will not result in increases in AUMs and thus rental rates during the lease term. As proposed in the regulatory amendment, further reviews during the lease period will not be conducted, even if the productivity decreases If leaseholders have concerns about the assessed AUMs (productivity), they can surrender the lease or permit.

Investing in Productivity

Q. Are rental rates changing?

A. The rental formula is not changing. Forage rent fees are calculated using a market-based formula: 3.5% of the market price of beef multiplied by the forage capacity or total AUMs. As calf prices change, rental rate will fluctuate

A 50% rent relief discount is in place for 2023. The proposed amendment formalizes Manitoba’s commitment to reduce rates by 33% in 2024, and 15% in 2025 to help producers recover from recent extreme moisture years.

Expanding Eligibility

Q. Are there any changes to the eligibility to hold an ACL lease?

A. Yes. In 2019, Manitoba expanded eligibility to hold an ACL lease or permit to include First Nations bands. The proposed amendment further expands the eligibility of a band to include any non-profit organization that principally represents the interests of one or more bands, individuals of Metis decent, or holders of aboriginal or treaty rights.

Extending a Lease

Q. What is a Forage Management Plan?

A. A forage management plan lays out practices that support sustainable management of forage leases and improved forage productivity. The goal of the plan is to increase livestock production and sustain forage stands on ACL land at highly productive levels.

As proposed in the regulatory amendment, a professional agrologist must approve the plan five years before the expiry of the lease to qualify for a five-year extension. In order to receive the five-year extension, the leaseholder must demonstrate that they have been in substantial compliance with the forage management plan.

For example, a lease issued in 2020 must have a forage management plan in place by December 31, 2029, or five years before the initial expiry date of December 31, 2034. If approved for the extension, the final expiry date of the lease would be December 31, 2039.

Q. Is there funding or support available to producers to improve ACL productivity?

A. Funding is available through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s (SCAP) Grasslands and Grazing Management Funding Stream. For ACL leaseholders, eligible activities include development of forage management plans and purchasing fencing and watering systems.

Manitoba Agriculture is investigating opportunities to increase extension services to forage leaseholders, and offering cost-shared programs aimed to improve ACL productivity. This support may work in concert with the developing forage management plans, following them, and verifying their success.

Transferring a Lease

Q. Does the proposed regulatory amendment reinstate the former ‘Unit Transfer’ provision to its pre-2019 format?

A. No. Unit transfers were removed in 2019. Since 2019, leaseholders can only transfer leases to immediate family members, which includes spouse, common-law partner, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew of a person, including a person's corresponding inlaws and step-relations. The proposed amendment would allow legacy leaseholders to ‘nominate’ an eligible party to take on a new system lease for a term of 15 years extendable to 20 years if a forage management plan was prepared and complied with.

Q. Can I transfer my lease to someone outside my family?

A. Yes. As proposed, if you hold a new system lease, you could transfer the remainder of the term to anyone eligible to hold a lease or permit. The transferee would hold the lease for the remainder of the original 15-year term In this case, the transferee would be eligible for a five-year extension providing requirements for extension were met.

For legacy leaseholders, transfers are limited to family members with and the legacy lease and its features would endure. The proposed amendment provides an opportunity to nominate a non-family leaseholder, however, in this case the nominee would be issued a new system lease with a 15-year term extendable to 20 years if a forage management plan was prepared and complied with.

Nominating a New Leaseholder

Q. What is the new nomination process?

A. The regulation amendment would permit legacy leaseholders to nominate the next leaseholder. Legacy leaseholders would apply for a nomination certificate, and if approved, use the nomination certificate to apply to nominate the next leaseholder. As proposed, the next leaseholder would be issued a new system lease of 15-years with the opportunity for a five-year extension.

Q. Is the nomination certificate approval guaranteed?

A. No. Once a leaseholder applies for a nomination certificate, the application is irrevocable. Manitoba Agriculture would circulate the parcel through the Treaty Land Entitlement process and to Indigenous communities to identify impact to aboriginal and treaty rights. If the land is located in a Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) Community Interest Zone (CIZ), eligible First Nations can select the land under TLE. If selected, the land is no longer available for lease and the current lease would be canceled. If not selected and no concerns related to treaty and aboriginal rights are identified, the land would be available for lease by an eligible nominee The application could also be denied if the leaseholder is in violation of the regulation or the terms and conditions of the lease.

Q. Is a family transfer of a legacy lease subject to TLE selection?

A. No. Legacy lease transfers to family members are not subject to TLE selection.

Valuing Improvements

Q. What are my options when dealing with improvements I made on my lease?

A. Currently, outgoing leaseholders have three options regarding improvement value when leases are surrendered or expire. These are:

 forego improvement value and surrender them to the Crown. At auction, the improvements will be considered to have zero value.

 retain any removable improvements such as fences, watering devices, or other equipment or items for sale or other repurposing.

 seek compensation from, or sell improvements to, the next leaseholder by obtaining an appraisal of the improvements

There are no proposed changes to these current options.

Q. Can I sell my improvements to the next leaseholder?

A. Outgoing leaseholders can be compensated for investments made on eligible improvements. The amendment proposes a new process for this.

Outgoing leaseholders seeking compensation for improvements must have the improvements valued by a qualified appraiser at their own cost. Manitoba Agriculture would post the improvement value determined by the appraiser with the parcel at auction. This new approach reduces ambiguity around improvement values, and allows interested leaseholders to make an informed bid. Successful bidders would be required to submit the value of the improvements to the outgoing leaseholder

Situations exist where outgoing leaseholders must forego improvement value. These include land selected for TLE, and land not allocated by auction within two years of expiry or surrender.

Q. Do I have the option to set my own value of improvements if I disagree with the appraisal?

A. No. The proposed amendment requires Manitoba Agriculture to post the total value of improvements as determined by the appraiser.

Q. How can I be sure I will be paid for my improvements?

A. The proposed amendment includes provisions requiring the outgoing leaseholder to pay the incoming leaseholder. The former holder is entitled to compensation from the new holder for any remaining improvements made by the former holder to the leased or permitted lands if the former holder meets the requirements set out in the regulation. If all requirements in the Agricultural Crown Lands Leases and Permits Regulation have been met and the improvements remain on the leased or permitted lands, the new holder must pay the appraised value of the improvements to the former holder within 60 days after the auction.