Lengthy freezing weather impacting Manitoba farmers

Winnipeggers are experiencing a bitter cold reality, the possibility of the first March in over a century without a single day above zero degrees Celsius.

While morale may be suffering, the real concern lies in the effects these temperatures might have on farmers in Manitoba.

“A delayed spring typically means a delayed harvest,” said Colin Penner, a farmer. “It’s probably put us behind everything, getting equipment ready hauling grain, it’s put us behind a couple or a few weeks for sure.”

Although it’s not the coldest March on record, Natalie Hasell from Environment Canada says this could be the first time since 1899 that temperatures haven’t gone up above freezing point.

“It is not normal for it to be this cold,” said Natalie Hasell, Warning Preparedness Meteorologist at Environment Canada.

Why is Winnipeg experiencing this unusual cold? Hasell says it’s a combination of two things in particular.

“This is an area of higher pressure coming down from the artic, we also have upper-level analysis, we have a low-pressure system sitting right over Hudson’s Bay and the southern part of Nunavut and the circulation around that is allowing cold air to come down.”

For Penner, these types of frigid temperatures means delaying the seeding process which typically happens in mid-April.

“The later we get in the year, typically the lower the production is. If we could get our crops seeded by middle of May, May 20th that’s sort of putting us off to the best chance of having a good crop out there,” said Penner.

But despite the late start, Penner says other farmers might have it worse.

“It is definitely more difficult for folks that have livestock, to have way more snow on their feed or pasture, that slows things down.”

When should Winnipeggers expect warmer weather? Hasell says that should be coming soon.

“We do see a return to more seasonal values probably sometime in the middle of April, at the earliest.