The provincial agriculture department announced last month it put a freeze on rent for agricultural Crown land for the 2025 growing season in order to make the land more affordable for cattle producers.
But some producers say the rent is too high already for what is typically marginal land.
Manitoba agricultural minister Ron Kostyshyn announced a few weeks ago that the government is freezing Crown land rental rates for 2025.
“Freezing the 2025 forage lease and permit rates to match the 2024 rate will provide support to Manitoba producers,” said Kostyshyn in an Oct. 31 news release. “We are also extending the timeline for producers to submit an appraisal report and apply for improvement costs to leased land for leases expiring this year.”
The province froze Crown land leases and permit rates in 2024, and the annual rent for 2025 is set at the same rate.
The province rents Crown land to producers for grazing, haying or annual cropping, and the lands support the livestock industry.
Cattle producers Sam and Doris Hofer, who live in the Rural Municipality of Coldwell and own and rent land across the border in the RM of Armstrong, said the rent freeze is welcome as many farmers feel they already pay too much for Crown land.
Sam Hofer said he and his wife rent only a few quarters of Crown land and the price freeze won’t significantly cut their costs.
“They’re going to freeze the price, which is good. But with Crown lands, I know we always feel it’s too high. Every year we figure, ‘Why are we paying so much?’” he said. “It’s usually very poor quality land, some bush and swamp and has had no improvements done on it. But they still charge a fair price for it.”
Doris Hofer compared their bills for 2023 and 2024 Crown land rental prices and said there was really “no increase” for them. Although the 2025 freeze is appreciated, there could be other costs for producers who rent Crown land.
“You have to pay the taxes on the rental land and then you pay the rent; those are two separate items,” she said. “People might be seeing an increase if their assessment on a particular quarter rose.”
And the province also notified producers this spring that under the Agricultural Crown Lands Leases and Permits Regulation, there will be a fee for producers who are nominated for Crown land by other producers.
“You’re able to nominate somebody for Crown land and the outgoing and incoming producers are free to negotiate terms, but the nominee would have to pay a fee of $1,200,” said Hofer.
In addition to nominating the next lease or permit holder, the Agricultural Crown Lands Leases and Permits Regulation allows an extension of leases by five years (for a total of 20 years) if a producer implements a forage management plan for at least the last five years of a 15-year lease. It also allows the transfer of a lease or permit issued after Oct. 1, 2019, to another eligible producer for the remainder of the lease term, with a $200 fee.
A spokesperson for the province said the nomination fee covers a portion of the cost associated with transferring a lease.
“The $1,200 fee is outlined in the Agricultural Crown Land Leases and Permits Regulation and is necessary to cover a portion of the costs associated with setting up and transferring the lease,” said the spokesperson. “This fee does not fully recoup all costs and is considered a reasonable measure to recover some administrative expenses.”
Producers who acquire Crown land through auction do not pay a fee, but the cost of generating the lease is recouped in the bidding process.
“While there is no fee for new allocations through auction, the cost of generating the lease is collected in the auction bidding process,” said the spokesperson.
For more information on Crown lands, visit: gov.mb.ca/agriculture/land-management/crown-land
