Good morning from the wheat belt — five communities, strong roots, and stories worth your time.
### That El Niño weather has us wondering about our fields, once
The talk about a "super El Niño" coming our way? Well, that's something, and it hits a bit different out here in Brandon. You see, when folks in the city talk about El Niño and La Niña, they're thinking about if their patio plans get rained out, oba nä? But for us, for the farmers down by the Assiniboine River valley, or those with sunflower fields south of Portage, this isn't just about a good or bad hair day. It’s about the very ground we stand on, the crops that feed families, and the livestock that depend on consistent weather. Last year's drought was hard on us, and a strong El Niño means we're looking at potentially even more extreme swings — maybe another dry spell that could really hurt. It's not just a weather pattern, it's our livelihood we're talking about, and it keeps a lot of good people up at night.
It makes you think about all the work that goes into just getting a seed in the ground and hoping for the best. We’ve seen what unpredictable weather does, how it impacts everything from grain prices to the water levels in our sloughs. The Red River floodway saved the province once, sure, but even that can only do so much if the extremes keep coming. When they talk about global temperatures rising, out here it translates to "will my oats make it this year?" or "can we keep enough feed through winter?" It’s a quiet worry, but a deep one, running through every coffee shop meeting in Winkler and every auction sale west of Brandon. It's a reminder that for all our modern ways, we're still deeply connected to the land and what it decides to give us.
Well, if you want to know more about what’s happening in the wheat belt, listen to Keith and the gang break it down every morning — catch it live at mornings.live.