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After recent severe flooding in the region, the majority of Parkland farmers and ag producers are dealing with widespread crop destruction and field disruption, on a scale that hasn't been seen in a very long time.
Ron Kostyshyn, Dauphin MLA and Manitoba's Agriculture Minister, recommends farmers and ag producers to review their MASC policies, or reach out to their local MASC office.
"Our first line of defence is crop insurance, and until we get some evidence-based information, we'll have some measurement how bad crops have been affected," said Kostyshyn.
Kostyshyn said MASC and AgriInsurance officials will, when it's safe to do so, start visiting farms and fields in the region to get a better picture of this disaster's scale for farmers. Until then, there's no way to accurately estimate damage totals.
One of the big concerns for this flood is unseeded acreage. The MASC seeding deadline for excess moisture coverage was June 20th. With recent rains and flooding making a lot of farmers unable to seed by that deadline, and now that ability getting pushed even further back, many Parkland farmers are worried.
"For the producers that weren't able to seed due to wet acres, there is a crop insurance premium, or opportunity of a premium, where they would receive $75 an acre for compensation because they were unable to seed, so that's one of many programs...given the damage that exists, we have no straight answer of what's going to become of it, but obviously crop insurance agents will be out, doing an assessment," said Kostyshyn.
For more details, click here to visit MASC's webpage on excess moisture insurance. If you have any other questions or concerns about unseeded acreage and excess moisture insurance, call your local MASC office.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
The Eriksdale Creamery is the local museum in the community.
It served as the community's creamery before closing in 1990. For those who aren't sure what a creamery is, it's a place where butter and cheese are produced.
Vienna Kinkead says the facility is still celebrated today.
That's where the Eriksdale Creamery Days, Fair, and Rodeo come in. The two-day event runs on Saturday and Sunday in the community.
"Saturday is our big day. We start with a pancake breakfast, followed by a parade, and we have events going on at the museum, which is open for tours," said Kinkead. "We offer live music from Shawn Mousseau this year. Then we head over to the sports grounds where we have our rodeo and tractor pull."
Kinkead stresses this event is for all ages. Saturday night ends with live entertainment by 'Lost in a Small Town'. On Sunday, the action heats up at noon with tractor pulls, a slo-pitch tournament, and the beer gardens are open at the sports grounds.
The rodeo begins at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Kinkead says the event is always a huge success, and her favourite part is you being a part of the magic.
"The entire weekend of seeing families get together, friends come out from the city, just watching everything that takes place," she added.
While the rodeo and kids' activities are always a big hit, it's the parade that is a home run. It starts Saturday at 11:00. The theme this year is 'Green and White'.
"Oh yes, the parade is hugely attended," ended Kinkead. "We have a great variety of floats. Tractors, horse wagons. And there is usually a ton of candy for the kiddos."
A weekend pass to enter the sports grounds costs $20 for adults and $15 for youth. Kids 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
It's known as Manitoba's Largest Small Town Fair.
The annual Carberry fair and races begins tonight (Friday) with the first of three nights of chariot and chuckwagon racing.
While there promises to be something for every member of the family in Carberry this weekend, organizer Allen Christason says they are definitely not forgetting their roots, as agriculture will be front and center throughout the weekend.
"I've tried to do the math with how many head of livestock I think are on the grounds. The numbers got pretty big pretty fast, as we have a very active Sidney and Carberry 4-H beef clubs, that both have good memberships. So the barns will be full both Friday and Saturday for their beef show, including their sale at 4:30 on Saturday. And then they clean out and we get a new set of trucks and trailers for our open beef show and our First Lady heifer classic on Sunday."
Christason is also expecting\ a large field for their horse classes over the weekend.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
The Grandview Municipality wants people to conserve water because the lift pumps are running at capacity.
No trucks should be driven on the country roads. They aren't in shape and haven't been inspected. Grain trucks should also stay off. Gravel trucks are on certain roads to fix the holes.
Lyle Morran, the mayor of the municipality, urges caution. With that said, things are headed in the right direction.
"The water has dropped six to eight feet," said Morran. "There is still water in basements that people have never had before. The creeks are dropping down, and we're starting to repair a few of them. We're trying to get a few main roads open so everyone can get out."
The flood which hit the Parkland region earlier this week is something Lyle has never experienced. He's lived in the community his entire life.
The road to recovery in Grandview and other communities in the region will be slow and expensive. The community is currently working on certain roads so everyone has access.
Not everyone will be able to use their normal route; detours will be required.
"Probably won't be able to finish them all this year. There is a very scarce supply of culverts everywhere," ended Morran. "We ordered some. We thought we had enough for the year, but we're going to be short. A lot of them are large and very expensive culverts."
Lyle credits Public Works for all the work they've done and community members for stepping up to help those less fortunate.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
It was set to be a weekend to remember in the Village of Winnipegosis.
Then Mother Nature had other ideas. Due to the severe floods earlier this week in the Parkland region, event organizers have cancelled Mossey River Days. The three-day festival offers events for all ages and shines a spotlight on the beautiful community.
Riley Chartrand thanks everyone for understanding.
"We rely heavily on our own and surrounding communities to run a successful event," he said. "It's just not the right time. We decided to cancel it until next year. We're thinking of everyone during these times. We're offering our support to everyone out there. We hope everyone can get through this together safely."
The schedule of events included the kids' tractor pull for the 35th year in a row. The Mac Sliworski slo-pitch tournament was sold out.
The beer gardens were all stocked, and Kendra Kay was ready to put on a great performance.
The focus now turns to preparing for the 2027 edition of Mossey River Days.
There's light at the end of the tunnel, and Riley looks forward to you being a part of it.
"Hopefully, make it bigger and better. To recover from this year," ended Chartrand. "It'll be hindsight 20/20. We can look back on this year and aim to make next year bigger and better. Hopefully, Mother Nature cooperates next year."
Mossey River Days returns in 2027 and Riley can't wait to see you there.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Just after midnight on Canada Day, Swan River RCMP pulled over a truck that was racing another truck down Main Street in the community.
The trucks were travelling so fast that dust could be seen kicking up from the road. The sound of the revving engines could be heard from a distance.
A 17-year-old from Swan River was ticketed for careless driving. That carries a $672 fine. The youth was also issued a serious offence notice, which triggers a review of the youth's driver's license.
This incident could have easily turned tragic, as both vehicles were travelling at high speeds when a number of pedestrians were out walking in the area," said the RCMP in a release. "The RCMP remind motorists to follow the rules of the road and to refrain from street racing at all times."
Officers patrolled the area for the other truck but were unable to find it.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The latest Manitoba Agriculture Crop Report notes that mixed weather in the Northwest region has added stress to already saturated conditions.
Heavy rainfall brought 80.9mm of rain to the San Clara weather station, with a total of 123.4mm for the week - sitting at 224% of their normal precipitation levels.
Frequent and inconsistent precipitation has not allowed for drying conditions, and led to saturated fields and standing water. Infrastructure damage continues to be repaired across the region.
Fall Rye and Winter Wheat are mostly headed out, and some Fall Rye crops are in the Flowering stage. Crop stages range in Spring Cerals, with late planted fields in 2-leaf stage, the earliest planted fields at Flag Leaf stage.
Canola fields also range in stages, from 2-4 Leaf to the earliest fields in Early Flower. Field Peas continue in the vegetative state. Soybean fields range from the 1st to 3rd Trifoliate Stage. Some field show signs of Iron Deficiency Cholorisis.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
As the community continues with what will be a long road to recovery, Lyle Morran, mayor of the Grandview Municipality, is urging residents to be cautious.
They're asking rural residents to shelter in place as much as possible. Stay off rural roads, as not all are marked because they're out of signs.
"No heavy trucks unless approved by the municipality. Some roads are undercut and not safe," said Morran. "Public Works are trying to find safe routes out for everyone. Some people are still isolated. If you use well water, boil it until you can get it tested. The municipality office has well-testing kits. We want everyone to be safe, and we will do what we can to help."
Morran credits Public Works staff for all they've done over the past couple of days. They've had to keep the lift station going so the sewer doesn't back up. It's been manned overnight. Staff also sandbagged it and brought in three extra pumps to keep the water out.
Office staff have been working around the clock, taking emergency calls.
Lyle also credits community members.
"There are many rural residents who have stepped up. They've offered to clean up basements for people," he ended. "There have been lunches made. The community has really banded together. It's amazing to see how many people show up to help those who are less fortunate."
Morran also wants to stress there is light at the end of the tunnel. While the road to recovery could be long, there is a sense of hope. Crews have managed to keep the water and sewer running.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, Dauphin MLA and Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn, RM of Dauphin Reeve Ernie Sirski, and City of Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak attended a meeting at Dauphin City Hall earlier today, to discuss the various impacts of flooding and heavy rainfall in the area in the past week, and what solutions there are for problems faced by many residents.
After the meeting, Premier Kinew announced the Province will be creating a $5M Cash Advance with Disaster Financial Assistance. He was very thankful for the Municipality's collaboration with the Province around the creation of the program.
"I was relieved to hear from one of the municipal officials, say that they'd heard from emergency management officials this morning, telling them about the initiative, and saying what do you need, so that we can get folks back to normal as soon as possible...we don't want any resource or financial question to get in the way of getting people back to normal, so that's why we want to work together collaboratively," said Premier Kinew.
With the rainfall and flooding, several essential services in the Parkland have been severely disrupted, including the Dauphin Regional Health Centre. Premier Kinew and other officials are set for a tour of the damage there. Due to the flooding of their basement, the DRHC had to close their emergency room, and evacuate a number of their patients.
Prairie Mountain Health and Shared Health Manitoba have opened a temporary clinic, across from the hospital for now. Premier Kinew said in much of Manitoba where road travel isn't an option, anyone needing medical assistance should call 911 or their local emergency services, and not risk travel.
"In areas close to Dauphin, and in some of these areas where road access is a real possibility, then of course that mobile clinic across from the Dauphin Hospital, the Ste. Rose emergency department, these are areas you can access," said Premier Kinew.
Looking ahead, much of the Parkland's infrastructure has been damaged, either by washouts or other flood-related causes, or intentionally being destroyed to make way for flood waters. A prime example is Highway 10, west of Swan River, which had to be cut. With today's climate more unpredictable than ever, Premier Kinew said any infrastructure repairs will be made while keeping in mind flood and damage mitigation.
"Now that we've seen what can happen with a changing climate, we need to build infrastructure that's going to meet that need," said Premier Kinew.
Swan River and the RM of Swan Valley West have been hit especially hard. After some flooding from heavy rainfalls in June, Monday's storm prompted several mandatory evacuation orders within the Town, and several road closures in the RM. Premier Kinew and other officials will be in the area later today to assess the new damage, after a visit last month. He expects communication and collaboration with Swan River and the RM of Swan Valley West to be very straightforward.
"Right now, the biggest need is to make sure that they get the resources, the supplies, the pumps, the sandbags to be able to stabilize the situation...the communication will be good. Obviously there's always room for improvement, but I think the municipal leaders in the region know how to get a hold of me directly, they know how to get a hold of the emergency management officials," said Premier Kinew.
In the past week, Swan River has recieved approximately 150mm of rain. For information on the Province's Disaster Financial Assistance Program, click here to visit their website.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
The City of Dauphin's Waste Disposal Site has reopened following a brief closure.
They're now waiving disposal fees for flood-damaged materials brought to the Site for the remainder of this week. You can take flood-damaged materials between 8:30 and 5:30 on Thursday and 8:30 and 4:00 on Friday and Saturday.
This service is only available to City of Dauphin residents affected by flooding. You will be required to provide your address at the gate.
"Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this week's flooding. We hope this small step helps as our community begins to recover," the City said in a release.
If you do not have a truck or trailer, the City of Dauphin is exploring ways to assist residents who are unable to transport the materials. They will provide additional information if an option becomes available.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The Town of Swan River has issued a mandatory evacuation order for parts of the town that face especially high threats from flooding.
The areas under the evacuation order are:
- Duncan Crescent
- Heyes Street, Crescent Drive, and Centennial Drive
- Sixth Avenue North, Seventh Avenue North, and River Park Drive
In a Facebook post with their latest flood updates, the Town of Swan River says residents in those areas should remain evacuated until the Town advises it's safe to return.
Additionally, the town has set up an evacuation centre at Veterans Community Hall, which is fully staffed and has mental health supports available. They also want to remind people to continue conserving and reducing water use, and not to go near flooded areas, especially basements that could have electrical hazards.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
