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Farmers take part in old time harvest

Farmers familiar with antique farm equipment had a chance to harvest the land as was done decades ago.
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Farmers enjoyed an old time harvest Sunday

Farmers familiar with antique farm equipment had a chance to harvest the land as was done decades ago.

The harvest was held at Ken Pohl’s farm Sunday, Sept. 27 north of Ponoka, with proceeds from the sale of the almost five acres of oats going to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Complete with horse drawn wagons, volunteers harvest the grain into an old threshing machine from 1910.

As luck, or bad luck would have it, the machine broke down twice, allowing modern day farmers to feel a greater appreciation for modern equipment. Luckily, Pohl was able to fix the issues and get back to harvesting the grains. “Some people had never seen the threshing machine work,” said Pohl of the day.

Despite a few setbacks, Pohl said the enthusiasm from attendees was clear and he intends to continue on with the harvest in upcoming years as well as contributing funds to the Foodgrains Bank.

“Our yield was over 80 bushels an acre,” said Pohl proudly.

“I’ll probably do a few more acres next year,” he added.

As for the Foodgrains Bank, a harvest of land south of Ponoka is set for Friday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. weather permitting and the organizers are inviting all interested to celebrate the harvest as a community event.

For more info, contact Johan Feitsma at 403-704-0426 or Peter Doornenbal 403-783-2947.