With overland flooding again expected in the southern portion of Manitoba’s Red River Valley, the Canadian Wheat Board plans to make room at area elevators for affected farmers to bring in their accepted grain now.
The CWB said Friday it would put a program in place to help farmers who may have grain at risk in the Red River Valley between Morris (about 50 km south of Winnipeg) and Emerson (at the U.S. border).
Additional rail cars will be allocated to elevators at Morris, Agassiz and Letellier to clear space in elevators so affected farmers can deliver their accepted Series A and B grain, the CWB said.
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The CWB expects to move this grain from the end of March to the middle/end of April.
Farmers with at-risk grain can call the board at 1-800-275-4292 to register for early movement, and will need to indicate their preferred delivery company/station, tonnes affected and bin locations.
The Manitoba government’s Feb. 22 spring flood outlook points to “significant potential” for spring flooding in the Red River Valley. Given average weather, flooding levels would exceed those in 2006 but be lower than 2009 flood levels, the CWB said.
The Red River Valley is unique, in that it is an extremely wide flood plain with significant grain storage, the board noted.
Further south in the valley, the Reuters news service on Monday quoted the U.S. National Weather Service as saying melting snow is expected to cause “major flooding” along the Red in North Dakota by midday Tuesday (March 16) with water levels just below a record set in 2009.
The Red is expected to reach the major flood stage of 9.1 metres at Fargo, N.D. on Tuesday and crest at 11.3-11.9 metres by the weekend, Reuters quoted an NWS official as saying.
The Red River reached a record 12.4 metres at Fargo in 2009, causing property damage and evacuations in that area of the state and leaving many farmers in the region unable to seed crops.
