RIVERTON, Man. – Around here the pastures are chewed right down to the ground and the hay fields show few signs of life.
But among the drought-suffering farmers here, optimism is growing.
“There seems to be a lot of moisture around,” said Riverton farmer Valdi Johnson, a cattle producer who was hauling a load of round bales from Arnes to his 300 head at Riverton.
“We had a lot of snow this winter.”
Last summer many parts of the Interlake region of Manitoba were dry, dusty and crunchy, with the main signs of life in the fields being the hordes of grasshoppers that would flare up at anyone’s approach.
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Many producers crops were ruined by the dearth of moisture. Some grain producers were not able to cover the costs of seeding and growing the 2003 crop.
Cattle producers had it worse, going into winter with little hay or feed supply.
“We only got half a bale an acre,” said Johnson.
Fisher Branch provincial agrologist Dan Roche said Interlake farmers learned how to stretch rations and make cattle feed out of whatever they could find.
“Everyone had to take a crash course on cattle nutrition,” said Roche.
Many farmers fed straw supplemented by grain and minerals. For some, this was the first time they had to rely on straw feeding.
“They’re surprised at how well the cattle did on marginal quality feed,” said Roche.
“All in all, things turned out pretty good.”
Johnson decided to bale silage rather than dry hay, a choice he is happy he made.
“We made the bales stretch a bit. We seemed to get more hay per acre by picking it up green,” said Johnson.
Interlake cattle producers still have challenges. Soil moisture conditions were improved by fall rains and heavy snowfall, but farmers still need good rain to get a crop.
Farmers here have been struggling with drought at the same time as they face the BSE-reduced prices for cattle.
“It’s sure set us back,” said Johnson, estimating that calf prices have fallen by 35 percent.
But like his Icelandic ancestors who hacked a home out of the cold, scrubby, rocky country around here, Johnson can see past the present problems of drought and BSE.
“We’ll survive this,” he said.
“We always have.”
