“It did not happen,” said committee member Ed Dyck bluntly, “and it’s not going to happen in 2019. I guess everybody was struggling with their own, and the crop is so flat on the ground, we are leery of combining and picking up stones. A number of the farmers working on their own crops were putting stones through the combine.”
Dyck said as part of their annual crop rotation, they planted wheat this year. To start with, it was seeded on the late side, which is done on purpose so the volunteer farmers who help are done planting their own crops first, and be done first during harvest. Usually, they get together as a group and get the crop off one day in the fall, holding a lunch for the public at the same time. This fall, it was wet pretty much all the time, and then the snow came. No plans were ever made to harvest.
“There was never a period dry enough to start it, or even plan it. We never had a date in mind or a date to cancel. I think the first snowstorm (in October) was a killer. It dropped the crops. Guys seemed a little hesitant to put their machinery over there. I mean, it’s not their livelihood.”
Despite not getting the crop off, the growing project still has expenses. Dyck said they always keep a little money back each year when they make their donations to the Foodgrains bank. They can pay the rent on the land, and there are other expenses like fertilizer, chemicals and custom work. They also have to send in some money to cover donations. He added they did have some hail damage, which they received $20,000 for, which gives them a cushion.
“We will have precious little to send in to Foodgrains central,” Dyck stated.
They do have crop insurance, but they will have to wait on that until the spring. Dyck said they will have to look at what they have when the snow goes away in 2020 to see if they can harvest something or take care of it some way, as the old has to leave before they can plant new. He said they will discuss it over winter, and ultimately crop insurance will determine what will happen. If there is a lot of snow this winter, there are concerns the ruts in the field will be filled with water for a long time in the spring.
They will also have to discuss what to plant. They work with different crops in different years as part of a crop rotation plan. However, there will likely be plenty of wheat seed in the ground from the 2019 seeding, and it might germinate if they get on the land late. This leaves much up in the air.
“It is not too often you deal with that. Personally, I have never dealt with it. We’ll have to keep our ears to the ground. There are others in the same predicament.”
Another in the same predicament is the assisted living project. The Municipality of Boissevain-Morton had some leftover land north of Boissevain by the landfill site that the group building an assisted living facility was using to grow a fundraising crop. They too planted wheat, and they too hit the same walls when harvest rolled around.
“We haven’t had the chance to go after it yet,” said committee member George Heide. “We were always waiting for something else, it was never dry. We always have it in our thoughts and it might have to wait until spring.”
He said it looked like a good crop. They had planted about 85 acres, and were hoping to get about 70 bushels an acre. That would have helped the group finish up their $2 million fundraising goal to start the construction on the 35 unit facility. However, like the Foodgrains field, they were not even able to designate a date to try to get it off. It was always wet, and those involved had their own crops higher on the priority list.
They too have a few outstanding expenses, and they do not have a cushion as their fundraising cousins in Fairfax. As Heide said, they did not get their own policy for crop insurance, but instead folded it into another farmer’s plan. His wheat did well enough the policy did not kick in, they will not be receiving anything.
“It’s something we will have to take in stride. You can’t do anything about the weather.”
Assisted living has the field for three years, and Heide expects the group to try again in 2020. Right now, they are working on getting prepared to start building the facility in 2020. On Friday, November 29 they are holding their community fundraising auction, and continue to move forward on the practical side of the building.
As for the growing project, Dyck said this is the first time they were not able to get their crop off. They have no plans for any other events at this point, but he added the people know they are in existence and they continue to get good donations for their efforts. However, 2019 was a year for the ages.
“It is a real learning curve,” Dyck said.
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff