We entered into the project with a very dry spring, but fortunately, there was good soil moisture below from last September’s rains. Also in our favour was that one of our members donated enough lentil seed for our almost 100 acres, a mile west of town. They were seeded in early May with work done by members and volunteers. Most inputs were also donated. The crop emerged and handled the drought well. In fact, it was encouraged to bloom and set more seed by the dryness pressure. There was sufficient rain in late June and early July for it to fill well. By August 18, it was ready to be harvested by member’s combines. Remarkably it produced nearly 35bu/ac.
We were able to get a fair price for the crop, which was trucked to Southey using member and volunteer trucking. It netted $49,793.49 in proceeds. With other donations taken into account and expenses paid out, we were able to forward $50,000 to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. With 4 to 1 matching by the Canadian government, $250,000 will be available for the three member churches’ world relief branches.
We would have liked to have an appreciation breakfast meeting to thank everyone for participating, but pandemic regulations made that impossible for November, our usual time. We would hope for the opportunity for such to take place in the spring to inform everyone of our 2021 plans and encourage continued participation. We thank everyone who made 2020 a success.
- the Grow Group
