Heritage Harvest utilizes a 65-acre field in the Austin area to grow crops each year, and the proceeds are donated to the Canadian Food Grains Bank and the Manitoba Ag Museum. Nicole Blyth is an Agro Manager at Homestead Co-op and works with Heritage Harvest. She outlines what happened this year with the project.

"It is actually our best year yet, with $40,000 being donated back to our parent organizations," says Blyth. "We actually partner with the Manitoba Ag Museum. It is land from the Manitoba Ag Museum and then we ask for donations from industry partners as well as the community. We grow a crop and then donate all of the income from that field back to those organizations."

She says BASF Canada has sponsored the seed and chemical for this year's crop, noting they asked local farmers to seed the crop.

"The proceeds are actually matched through government funding," says Blyth. "The portion that goes to the museum goes into their endowment fund and is matched by the Manitoba Heritage Trust program on a three-to-one basis. Then, the Food Grains Bank portion is matched on a four-to-one basis from the federal government. Overall, we have donated $180,000 in direct support in the last seven years. And portions of that would also be matched."

Blyth says they grew L340 PC canola from BASF this year, and yielding 44 bushels an acre. 

Blyth says canola, wheat and soybeans have been grown in the past. 

"We honestly couldn't have had such a successful year without the help of our volunteers and our donors combined," adds Blyth. "They provided nearly $20,000 of in-kind supplies and services to grow the crop this year, and a big thank you to our presenting sponsor us for the seed and chemical for this year as well." 

 

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