Article content

MELITA, Man. — Up to 400,000 hectares of farmland could go unseeded in Manitoba this year because soggy conditions and relentless rain are making it impossible for farmers to get on their fields.

Dwayne Hodgins has been farming in the southwest near Melita for 30 years and hasn’t been able to seed more than three-quarters of his 2,480 hectares. Last year, about 800 hectares of his crop were lost when his land flooded after seeding.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'The ground’s wet enough without my tears:' Rain keeping Manitoba farmers from planting crops Back to video

His farm has received 300 millimetres of rain this spring, some of which fell on frozen ground because it took so long for the frost to melt. These days, he said, it’s hard to keep from losing hope.

“The ground’s wet enough without my tears on it,” Hodgins said. “You know you need to go to work because you haven’t got a paycheque coming, and then you can’t get out the door because there is a puddle in front of it. That’s exactly what it’s like. It’s frustrating.”

While seeding was off to a slow start on much of the Prairies after a frigid winter, it has picked up in Alberta and Saskatchewan, but not in huge swaths of Manitoba.