Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing Program

  • Programs and Services
  • Auction for lease and permit allocation
  • Eligibility
  • Fees
  • Policies
  • Appeal Tribunal
  • Contact

Program and Services

  • Allocate leases and permits via auction
  • Manage agricultural Crown lands, including all leases and permits
  • Promote improvement in the productivity and the sustainable use of agricultural Crown lands

Agricultural Crown Lands Lease and Permit Auction

A complete listing of agricultural Crown lands available for rent can be found online 30 days prior to the start of an auction at:

http://resd.ca/leases_and_permits/LPproperties.aspx

or an ARD and MASC Service Centre.

Please note that you may be ineligible to bid in an agricultural Crown lands lease auction if you have not made payment in full for your existing lease or permit.  

For information about participating in a Manitoba Agriculture Crown Lands Auction, please refer to the Fact Sheet (PDF 158 KB).

For information about the online registration process, please refer to the Registration Instructions (PDF 508 KB).

Samples of the standard Forage Lease Agreement (PDF 1,033 KB) and Cropping Lease Agreement (PDF 1,011 KB) are available for review. Although the lease will apply to most parcels, there may be specific additional provisions that apply to specific parcels.

Parcels under Water Resource Administration Act  and Transportation Infrastructure Act may have additional conditions (PDF 547 KB)

Auction Results

An online auction was held during the week of February 6 - 10, 2023. Six renewable permits, 12 cropping leases and 98 forage leases were allocated through this process. Follow the link below for final results from this auction.

An online auction was held during the week of January 31 - February 4, 2022. Seven renewable permits, 15 cropping leases and 81 forage leases were allocated through this process. Follow the link below for final resulsts from this auction.

An online auction was held during the week of February 8 - 12, 2021. Four renewable permits, two cropping leases and 118 forage leases were allocated through this process. Follow the link below for final results from this auction.

Eight auctions were held for agricultural Crown land lease allocations in six locations across Manitoba between November 27, 2019 and December 6, 2019. Sixty-two forage leases and eighteen cropping leases were allocated through this new streamlined process. As per auction rules, winning bids and bidders were announced at each auction following each allocation.

Eligibility

An individual must be at least 18 years of age, and be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada).

Corporations, forage cooperatives, partnerships, Hutterite colonies, and First Nation bands can also be eligible to acquire an agricultural Crown lands lease.

Please refer to the Eligibility Policy for further guidance.  

Fees

  • Allocation is done via auction process with an administrative reserve in place
  • Annual rent for cropping leases is determined by successful auction bid
  • Annual rent for forage dispositions is determined by formula
    • Forage Rent Formula = A x 3.5% x B
    • A is the average price of beef, determined by the average sale price per hundred pound weight for the previous 36 months, ending September 30 for 500 to 600 pound heifers and steers in the province as published by Canfax (an operating division of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association)
    • B is the forage capacity for the land, being the number of animal unit months that the land is capable of producing in an average year, as determined by Manitoba Agriculture
    • 2024 rent = $8.14/AUM

      *** 55% Rent Reduction applied to 2024 Forage Leases and Permits only $3.66/AUM 

                   Official Rent Reduction News Release                                                          

  • Annual payment in lieu of municipal taxes is calculated by Real Estate Services Division, Department of Finance
  • For additional information on upfront costs and annual fees, please see the Allocation and Rent Policy
  • A transfer fee of $200 is applicable to transfers and name changes on lease agreements. Please see the Transfer Policy
  • Community pasture rent is determined by the Association of Manitoba Community Pastures
  • Development (land improvements) is done at lessee cost and rental rates are not increased for an agreed-upon number of years, depending on the extent of the development 

Supporting Policies

Appeal Tribunal

The Agricultural Crown Lands Appeal Tribunal considers appeals from anyone unhappy with a decision regarding the management and administration of agricultural Crown lands.

Contact

Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development
Agricultural Crown Lands
PO Box 1286
36 Armitage Avenue
Minnedosa MB R0J 1E0
Office: 204-867-6550
Fax: 204-867-6578

Email: agcrownlands@gov.mb.ca

or

Manitoba Agriculture, Farm Production Extension Specialists, Crown Lands District Offices.