Forty-two farmers who suffered severe losses from flooding last spring in the Red River Valley will receive an average of $8,900 each from a special fund.
The Manitoba Farm Flood Relief Fund wrapped up its work last week when it mailed out cheques, said Marcel Hacault.
“This money is not coming with any conditions,” said Hacault. “It’s based on certain needs but the individuals can do with it what they want.”
People from across the country and parts of the United States donated $388,000 for flood-ravaged farmers. The largest group of donations came from Ontario, where 650 people gave $180,000 to the fund.
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Fund trustees were set to distribute the money last fall, but then governments announced a compensation package that covered many of the farmers’ needs.
Fund trustees worked with the Red Cross to determine which farmers were most in need.
“The main tenets were the long-term financial needs that they had and their ability to recuperate,” explained Hacault.
He said fund trustees distributed $374,000 on Feb. 20, keeping back some money in case they missed anyone, plus $5,000 to cover postage and auditing.
“I really sincerely hope that we identified the people who needed this money and we hope it will make a difference,” he said.
