Man. crops getting washed out

Heavy rains are washing away hopes of a promising crop year in Manitoba.

The Manitoba government has already received as many crop insurance claims as it typically gets in an entire year, and more are expected.

On the last weekend in May, thunderstorms dumped more than 100 millimetres of rain in some parts of southern Manitoba, saturating the ground to the point where it couldn't absorb any more.

In the Emerson area, near the U.S. border, more than 170 millimetres of rain fell.

'We've been fighting mud ever since trying to find dry fields to go on.' —Walter Finlay, Souris-area farmer

Rain showers have continued to dampen the land and spirits of farmers since then, though the amounts have been much lighter.

But there hasn't been a long enough stretch of sun to dry up the drenched fields.

Walter Finlay, who farms in the Souris area southwest of Brandon, has only managed to get seed into two-thirds of his fields.

And large sections of those fields that have been seeded are flooded over.

"It was looking like a promising year, but the heavy rains changed that. We've been fighting mud ever since trying to find dry fields to go on," he said.

Perfect conditions in April and most of May put seeding ahead of schedule by about two weeks but then the cooler, rainy weather hit.

Finlay has not been able work his land for nearly two weeks now. All he can do is shrug his shoulders and wait.

"There is nothing you can do about it. You just try and suck it up and continue on," he said.

"Who am I going to be angry at? You can't get mad at Mother Nature."

Mushroom effect

It's not just the farmers who are suffering.

Todd Walker, manager at Redfern Farm Services in Souris said 20 to 30 workers have been laid off while he sits on millions of dollars of unused seed and fertilizer.

"It's the whole community [that is affected]," said Finlay.

"Next fall the trucking industry will be slow because there will not be the grain to haul to the elevators and that is going to affect the grain companies and that is going to affect the railways, so that is a huge mushrooming effect."