For Notre Dame area farmer Mitch Chanel, the land he works on is steeped in family history.
He represents the fourth generation on the farm.
“I've lived on the farm my entire life. I went to school after secondary school, went into agribusiness and continued to go into ag research, always stayed with agriculture,” says Chanel. “Then the opportunity came up to jump into the family farm with my brother. I decided to jump in on that and go all in.”
The farm itself produces a diverse mix of crops.
“We grow four different crops, peas, wheat, canola and soybeans,” notes Chanel.
Weather helps with early harvest
Like many Manitoba farmers, Chanel has been keeping a close eye on both the skies and the fields. So far, conditions have cooperated.
“It's been going good for us right here. We were very fortunate the week before to get all those plus 30 days,” says Chanel. “Got through all our wheat and all our peas, so we're just looking at canola and soybeans left here.”
The arrival of rain on Thursday forced a short pause.
“We're still waiting a little bit,” continues Chanel. “We'll be spraying them in the next few days here after this rain."
Yields look solid
With wheat and peas now in the bin, Chanel feels satisfied with how things are turning out.
“Overall, pretty good, we're happy,” he remarks. “It was dry coming off, so we didn't have to tie up too many bins with fans. We can leave those open for the canola and soybeans coming off.”
The growing season has been kind to the family farm, despite patchy showers across the region.
“We've been fortunate that every time a little system came through with two or three tenths, it seemed like either my brother's place would hit it a couple miles north of us or this place would hit,” mentions Chanel.
Canola and soybeans still to come
Looking ahead, there’s cautious optimism.
“They should be promising,” says Chanel. “The canola looks good every year, but you get in there and you find out that it's not as good as you thought it was. This year, it looks good, but you never know until you get in there.”
The soybeans, meanwhile, are still developing.
“They're still pretty green right now. They're starting to just turn now, but the low spots are still very green. I imagine it won't be until the end of the month,” adds Chanel.
A harvest lunch break
Thursday’s rain gave the farm crew a chance to pause, and they enjoyed a free Harvest Lunch provided by Boston Pizza. The meal gave everyone a chance to recharge during the busy season.
“It gives you a chance to recharge the batteries. A nice lunch like this gets everybody together again and shows appreciation for the whole farm crew because they put in long hours,” concludes Chanel.
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