Over 150K acres of farmland unseedable due to flooding in Manitoba: new data

The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation says it received thousands of claims because of the flooding last month.

New numbers from the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) are shedding light on the impact recent flooding has had on local crops.

According to MASC’s CEO Jared Munro, the corporation has received claims for 157,000 acres of flooded farmland that can’t be seeded due to excess moisture. He said this accounts for about 1.6 per cent of the total acres in Manitoba and will likely come to a payout of $11.4 million.

Munro added MASC has also received reports for about 160,000 acres that have already been seeded and need production insurance for losses.

“Producers don’t have to report those acres to us unless they plan to do something with that land,” he said.

“If it becomes dry enough that they can work it up or they can get a sprayer on and take care of the weeds or even plant another crop, then they’ll call us and we’ll look at that.”

Munro said 2026 is not the craziest year the corporation has seen in terms of flooding, but it’s unique in that there’ve been heavy rainfall events in all different parts of the province.

He noted it’s still been a challenging year for farmers, adding that the MASC won’t know the full impact until after harvest.

“Keep in mind that we insure about 10 million acres annually, so between the land that didn’t get seeded and stuff that we’re aware of where excess moisture is the main cause of the loss so far, we’re probably looking at somewhere in that three to four per cent range,” he said.

Munro said the MASC is working to get through claims as quickly as possible and using technology, including drones, to speed up assessments.

• With files from CTV’s Alex Karpa