Just before the rain and snow hit, farmers were able to get fertilizer onto their Canadian Foodgrains Bank farmland just south of Ponoka.
Farmers volunteered their time and equipment last week to get approximately 350 tons of donated chicken manure fertilizer into the field in preparation for seeding canola, said Foodgrains member Peter Doornenball. “That just about eliminates our fertilizer bill.”
Seeding should start in a few weeks with the group able to find savings of about $5,000 after Pioneer donated the canola for the project. Other chemicals needed for the crop are being donated, which helps reduce the overall input costs the group pays. Doornenball said they hope to raise more than the $65,000 that was donated last season.
The more they raise the better as the federal government will match the donations 4-1 in most cases. Money from the Foodgrains Bank goes to supporting food programs around the world.