WINNIPEGOSIS, Man. – Despair, anger and frustration.
Steve Bobinski shares all those emotions while driving across a pasture to check his cattle. The pasture is punctuated with mud flats and large stands of cattails, reeds and bullrushes.
The pasture was once good farm land, Bobinski said. But water from Lake Winnipegosis has spilled onto the property in recent years, spoiling much of it.
“This was good productive land,” said Bobinski, while steering his 1984 pick-up across the rough terrain. “We used to cut a lot of hay here and it was good quality hay.”
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Steve and his brother Joseph farm together near this northwestern Manitoba community. They’ve seen about 1,000 acres of their land saturated with water in recent years.
The Bobinskis also lease 5,000 acres of provincial crown land for hay and pasture. More than half of that land was flooded in the past two years, Joseph said.
Loss of land forced them to sell part of their beef herd. They now have about 200 cattle, down from 275 they owned in 1995.
Dozens of other farmers are suffering similar headaches, said Steve. He represents a group of about 50 cattle producers affected by the high lake levels.
“It’s been damn stressful on the family and everyone else,” Steve said.
“I had money saved up to send my girls to college but I had to dip into that. I had to dip into the savings to pay the bills.”
He also worked off the farm to help make ends meet. At least six families quit farming near the lake because water swamped much of their hay and pasture, Steve said.
The Bobinskis believe much of the problem lies with a bridge built across the outlet from Lake Winnipegosis. Lake water began edging onto farmers’ land after the bridge was built in 1995.
“It’s a hell of a coincidence,” Steve said. “That’s when the water started to come up.”
The Bobinskis and other affected cattle producers want the bridge widened, allowing more water to escape from the lake. They also want compensation from either the province or Ottawa for the loss of hay and pasture.
The province was expected to start rebuilding the bridge in June, Steve said. However, nothing has been done yet.
No one from the provincial government was available for comment.
The problem with high waters isn’t as evident this year, but Steve estimates the lake level is still 30 centimetres above normal.
“Even if it stays like this, there’s still a lot of land where we can’t harvest the hay. The water’s gone down some, but it’s still too wet to carry the equipment.”
Leo and Marlene Campbell share a similar plight. They farm beside the outlet from Lake Winnipegosis.
The Campbells pay $3,500 a year to lease crown land for hay and pasture. Most of that land has been awash during the past two years, Marlene said, but the province wouldn’t give them a discount on the lease.
The Campbells don’t want to quit farming where they are. They’ve been here for 25 years.
To help keep their farm afloat, Leo drives a school bus and Marlene teaches.
“We’re just always hoping next year will be better,” Marlene said. “It’s just our faith and hope that keeps us going.
“Something would die in us if we had to leave, to give up something we’ve had for 25 years.”
