Manitoba farmers are still recovering from last spring’s torrential rains, but a bit of cash will help some Interlake farmers get ready for spring.
The provincial government is sending $680,000 in flooding aid to farmers in the rural municipality of Fisher and two Indian bands, which farmer Robert Green says is needed.
“We’ve been working on this all summer,” said Green, who was at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities annual convention when the aid was announced.
Farmers in most of Manitoba were hit with radically different moisture conditions in 2006.
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Massive spring rains soaked many fields, and towns in the Red River Valley faced the prospect of flooding.
But then the driest summer in memory baked the fields and left farmers relying on deep soil moisture to produce their crops.
The spring rainfall wasn’t uniform. In parts of the Interlake, like Fisher, it came down in torrents.
“We had five and a half inches on May 28,” noted Green.
Many grain fields were submerged by the rain and by floodwaters pushed back onto fields when drainage systems filled.
Green got caught in the squeeze caused by first the floods, then the drought.
“It took so long to dry out, then it was so dry afterwards,” said Green, whose area has light land that doesn’t hold moisture.
“Most of our later crop didn’t amount to anything. We had reseeded, but there was absolutely nothing there because it was so dry.”
Intergovernmental affairs minister Steve Ashton said disaster aid like this helps build a society.
“One of the ways we build this country is to actually help the people who are in need. One of the things about Canada that really makes a difference is that no matter who’s affected, we help our neighbours,” he said.
