ESTEVAN - For the second straight year, a crop has been harvested in the Estevan area to benefit a couple of marquee events for the region.
Approximately 280-290 acres of hard red spring wheat were seeded and harvested this year near the Estevan Regional Airport. The harvest occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Canola was seeded last year.
“We had more than what we had last year. We did some work last year on the land, and got quite a few more acres ready for cropping this year,” said Pauline Ziehl-Grimsrud, the manager of a Estevan Curling Club and a local farmer herself.
The proceeds from the crop will be split between the 2022 Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship, presented by Tim Hortons, which will be hosted by the Estevan Bruins, and the Scotties-Tankard curling committee.
Estevan was to host the SaskPower Scotties Tournament of Hearts women’s curling provincial championship and the SaskTel Tankard men’s provincial tournament consecutively in 2021, but the events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The curling club will look to host the two events in the future, but not in 2022.
Ziehl Grimsrud said she was impressed with how this year’s crop turned out.
“Given the circumstances that all farmers are facing this year, we’re pretty pleased,” said Ziehl Grimsrud. “It came in in good shape. We were fortunate to catch that rain in the long weekend in May, and that was a pretty important rain for us.”
The prices for the commodities are very strong, which will help offset the bushels that weren’t out there this year.
It’s not known how much money will be raised for the two events, because some bills still need to be paid, but she expects it will be around $27,500 each.
Ziehl Grimsrud pointed out they used a proper rotation for the crops they seeded, and it’s a relief to have the wheat harvested and at the Richardson Pioneer facility west of the city.
The Centennial Cup committee proved to be a great partner for this proverbial field of dreams, she said.
“They had a tough go of it, too, with the uncertainty for so long whether their event was going to go (ahead), but it’s been good,” said Ziehl Grimsrud. “It’s good for our groups to work together and it’s been a positive experience. We’re totally supporting the Centennial Cup group and their work and bringing the event to the community. We look forward to helping them.”
Redhead Equipment and Richardson Pioneer were partners on this as well. Other supporters included Mike Marr, Ray Frehlick & Frehlick Farms, Bayer Crop Science, Merv Hagel, the City of Estevan, Corteva Agriscience, FMC, The Mosaic Company, Syngenta Canada, and A & D Trucking.
This will mark the final year for the fundraiser, as the two-year agreement with the city, Richardson Pioneer and Redhead Equipment has wrapped up.
A cheque presentation with all of the involved parties is scheduled to happen in September. Not only will the final totals for this year be announced, but the final figure for the two years will be revealed.
