Yet another downpour in the Interlake region of Manitoba, this time 100 millimetres, has producers in the area wondering if they’ll ever get on the land this summer.
“The fields have been inaccessible for three months now,” said Garry Wasylowski, a cattle producer in the Rural Municipality of Armstrong, 80 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
“People want to get out and get their work done, but they’re getting frustrated because every time they start doing something, it rains on them again.”
The most recent rains Aug. 21-22 added 70 to125 mm of precipitation to a region already soaked from this summer. According to Environment Canada data from the Arborg, Man., weather station, 275 mm of rain fell from July 1 to Aug. 25. In a typical year, the Arborg station receives 150 mm of rainfall during the two months of summer.
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Les Marchak, reeve for the RM of Armstrong, said many farmers in the cattle producing region have not touched their hay crop.
“I don’t think 25 percent have got their hay crops off,” he said. “It’s a sad situation here.”
Farther north around Arborg, 300 mm of water covers cropland on the worst hit fields, said Dean Stoyanowski, a local crop production adviser for Manitoba Agriculture.
“We have some drainage issues … but we’re seeing a lot of water standing at a critical time,” he said. “A lot of crops need to be swathed fairly quickly …. Canola is at the stage where it’s got the biggest effect (on it).”
Stoyanowski is equally concerned about the hay crop in the area because swaths and bales are sitting in water.
Wasylowski, who has 200 cattle, typically produces 1,600 to 2,000 round bales. As of Aug. 25, he had 800 bales rolled up. But before he makes any more progress, the water has to stop flowing across his property.
“There’s about 200 acres of first crop hay that hasn’t been cut yet. At this point the water is still running through the field,” he said.
In an effort to assist cattle producers in the Interlake, Manitoba’s agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk announced funding for a new program Aug. 24.
“We are committing to help these producers access feed and connect them with producers fortunate enough to get a hay crop off their fields,” said Wowchuk.
The department will create a Manitoba Forage Assistance Program, which will provide financial help, if needed, to buy feed.
Program details are not finalized, Wowchuk said, but producers should check the government of Manitoba website in early September for more information.
