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Crossroads F rida y, October 2 , 2 0 2 6 | Vo lum e 24 N um b e r5 | $1.25 PER COPY ( plus ta x e s) SERVIN G BIRTLE, HAM IOTA, ROSSBURN , RUSSELL, SHOAL LAK E & SURROUN D IN G REGION
FREE FLOWING
This week
DAR R E L L N E SBIT T / CR O SSR O ADS T H IS W E E K With leaves in the background turning, creating a canvas of fall colours, the scene of water flowing over the dam structure on the Birdtail River near the Birtle Riverside Park & Campground is quite a sight to those out for a stroll. The park and campground, blocked earlier in the year due to excess flooding, have had their beauty restored thanks to all who worked hard on the clean up efforts.
W eather causing havoc for area farm ers RAC HEAL FLIN TO FT Cro ssro a d s This W e e k
Saturated fields, stubborn humidity and a harvest falling behind has the regional producers waiting for a break. “I’m over it. It’s brutal,” said Danny Johnston, owner of Johnston Straight Line Harvesting Inc., a custom harvesting operation based in the Foxwarren area. Regionally, harvest has become
a frustrating waiting game as wet fields, heavy morning dews, and stubborn humidity keep producers from making the progress they would normally expect by early October. For some, the problem isn’t simply whether the grain is ready, but they can get to it without getting stuck. Johnston spends harvest moving from field to field for producers, giving him a view of condi-
tions well beyond a single farm. What he is hearing is remarkably consistent. “The general consensus from most farmers around here is maybe 20 percent done at the most,” he said. “Some guys less, some guys more.” The numbers from Manitoba Agriculture tell much the same story. According to the province’s Sept. 22 crop report, based on conditions through Sept. 21, the South-
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west region was just 27 percent harvested overall, while the Northwest sat at 24 percent. By comparison, the Central region was 64 percent complete and the Eastern region 62 percent. And while one sunny afternoon can make conditions look promising, what has happened beneath the surface tells another story. Between Sept. 14 and 20, Miniota received 77.8 millimetres of rain – the highest recorded total in Mani-
toba during that seven-day period. Parts of both the Southwest and Northwest received more than 30 mm, while large areas of the two regions have accumulated well above normal precipitation since May 1. Manitoba Agriculture described conditions in the Southwest as seeing little to no harvest progress during that reporting week.
SEE H U M IDIT Y , PAGE 3