Southwestern Manitoba harvest fundraiser celebration of past

Posted on September 1, 2024 by Peggy

Rob Penner applies oil to one of the many whirling gears on his wooden 1909 Avery threshing machine.

The rig is one of about 50 combines, grain trucks and threshers run by almost 100 volunteers at Austin’s Heritage Harvest. They gathered Saturday to harvest 65 acres of wheat that will be sold in support of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Austin’s Manitoba Agricultural Museum.

Rob estimates the Avery threshing machine — from the Manitoba Agricultural Museum– hasn’t run in at least 50 years. He said it’s an important link to the history of agriculture in Manitoba.

“The thresher was one of the pioneers that harvested a lot of wheat in Western Canada,” Rob said. “Harvest is an important part of Western Canada and our heritage, so it’s important to be a part of it.”

Three men load wheat into a wooden 1909 Avery Threshing Machine. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

The Heritage Harvest is a celebration of Manitoba’s agricultural history, that also helps raise money for charities through the sale of the crop, according to committee chair Nicole Blyth. Their goal this year is to raise at least $20,000.

The Heritage Harvest crop is rotated each year for field health typically between wheat, soybeans and canola based on market demands, Blyth said. This has been a good summer for the wheat because they had early moisture and a windy week in the lead-up to the harvest, giving the grain time to dry out.

A man drives a tractor. — Ron Penner drives a tractor pulling a wagon of wheat. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

There’s a joy when the harvest rolls around because they get to see the fruits of the labour, Blyth said.

“It is absolutely exciting and amazing to see all of the equipment,” Blyth said. “There’s huge smiles on everybody’s faces.”

Blyth said that most of the volunteers work at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum. This means they know the history of the industry in the province and appreciate being able to use and show off some of the antique machinery during events like the Heritage Harvest.

A man works with a pile of wheat. — A man loads an antique thresher. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

“Farmers very much cherish the heritage that agriculture comes from and want to honour that and make sure that it’s kept alive for the generations to come,” Blyth said.

A lot of the machinery in the Austin field, located 140 kilometres west of Winnipeg, would have been used anywhere from 60 to 100 years ago, Blyth said. Most of the machines are provided by the Manitoba Agricultural Museum and maintained and run by volunteers like Rob.

A combine works in a field. — Fund raised from the harvest will be split between the Manitoba Agirculture Museum and Canadian Foodgrains Bank. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

He said it offers a glimpse into the past. The Avery thresher runs using a tractor as an engine and sheaves of wheat are hand-fed into the machine by volunteers.

They took the Avery thresher for a test run at the Manitoba Thresherman’s Reunion and Stampede where it ran for about an hour. The rig takes about four hours to complete one acre of wheat – in contrast, some of the newer combines can clear a field at about 10 acres an hour.

A man drives a combine. — Harold Penner drives a combine. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

Bringing community together

Harold Penner said the Heritage Harvest brings the community together. The volunteers are critical, because “when many hands work together, we can have a really good time doing a lot of good in the world,” he said.

He hopped in a combine to help clear the field. Penner said he has a passion for helping hungry people of this world, something that was fuelled working for the Canadian Foodgrains Harvest.

A combine drives in a field. — Ian Cabernel drives an International 403 combine. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

Volunteering with Heritage Harvest is a reminder everyone is a piece of the puzzle when it comes to ending world hunger, he said.

“We’re doing a small bit and the whole picture of feeding the world and you know, we call ourselves a Christian response to hunger,” Harold said. “This is what we feel that Jesus Christ called us to do. And so that’s what we do as much as we can.”

Blyth said she appreciates the community volunteers coming out because it’s one of the busiest times of year for farmers as they race to get their crops off fields.

“They take the time out of their day to come here to volunteer their time, their equipment,” Blyth said. “It’s very special that they’re willing to do that for us and … help out the two donation organizations as well.”