Family farm faces flooding disaster in Manitoba

A Manitoba farm that produces vegetables for Western Canada could lose its entire celery crop to flooding.

Sixty per cent of the fields on the Itzke River Farm, near Elie, could be under water by next week.

Owner Astrid Itzke-Meilleur said many of the vegetables are a little more than a month away from harvest.

She expects they're going to lose a lot of money.

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"Millions," she said. "Right now it's, scary. We will lose some, it's just going to be a guessing game as to how much."

All of their celery crop, which they supply for western Canada at Loblaws, Safeway, Sobeys will go. It's four weeks from harvest and they'll lose it all, she said.

The farm also produces sweet corn and lettuce commercially.

Itzke-Meilleur said the farm was only just recovering from flooding in 2011.

The difference between that year and this one is that three years ago, the flooding happened in spring so they didn't plant in those acres.

This time, they've planted the fields and those vegetable will now rot.

"You've just thrown your money, all your prep money out, and it's gone," Itzke-Meilleur said.