ARBORG, Man. – Farmers in the Interlake region of Manitoba have some of the most diversified farms on the Prairies.
Usually diversification helps farmers avoid a crash in any one market or moderates the problems weather can do to any one crop.
But diversification won’t save Interlake farmers this year.
“They’re going to have a tough winter,” said Teulon, Man., farmer Dennis Persoage, who just avoided the drought that devastated crops growing on the long tongue of farmland between lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg.
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“No one expected so many things to go wrong.”
Persoage was one of a group of local farmers who gathered for a Keystone Agricultural Producers regional meeting Nov. 20 in Arborg. Few had happy stories to tell.
Drought stunted and destroyed many of their crops, and what the drought left behind was often eaten by hordes of grasshoppers.
Farmers in the Interlake grow the typical grains and oilseeds of other prairie farmers, but they also grow big acreages of forage seeds. None in the drought zone did well.
The Interlake is also a major cattle producing region. Producers are suffering the double whammy of drought damage to pastures, hay crops and feed grains, plus a cattle market distorted by bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Many local farmers don’t have enough feed to carry all their animals through the winter, but face big losses if they sell their livestock now.
“People will be pretty glad to see this year over,” said Paul Gregory, a forage seed producer.
“I’ve never seen it so dry.”
Gregory said farmers are hopeful about the coming year, because world prices for grain, cattle and honey are good.
If the weather returns to normal, Interlake farmers will be able to survive this year and recover, Gregory said.
