CJRB's second winners for our 2023 Meals in the Field contest was Robert and Patti Wanless from the Belmont area, and their harvest meal was delivered to their farm last week by a CJRB staff member!

The Wanless family heard the message on their home phone that they had won a free lunch from Boundary Co-op's deli, which included hot chicken, salad and more on behalf of our Meals in the Field contest.

The Wanless family farms 3200 acres of canola, wheat, barley, soybeans and peas.  "The first crop we did was peas, and we were pretty surprised," shares Robert. "We weren't expecting a great crop because there's been very little rain here, but it started off good and it stayed that way.  So, the yields have been quite good, we're doing canola now and it's good as well!"

That's been the common theme from many farmers in the Westman Region, that despite the lack of rainfall the crops are still showing favorable yields.

"I think we had a lot of moisture in the ground, and that's what probably grew it because we certainly didn't have a lot of rainfall," he adds.

The Wanless family have been farming in the Belmont area since 1980, and when it comes to weather and growing conditions, Robert says over the past 43 years they've seen just about everything.  "It is nice to have good weather and not have too many headaches, because there certainly can be."

 

It truly takes a community for our farmers to plant, maintain and then harvest their crop.  From the seed company to the chemical company, to the harvest crew, to keeping equipment field-ready, our farmers work with a large group of people to get that grain in the bin.  However, we recognize the risk our farming families take from start to finish and THAT'S why we hold our CJRB Meals in the Field contest - which is sponsored by numerous businesses in the Killarney-Boisseavin area - it's our way of saying 'Thank you!'

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