Kernels of Hope
September 2011
We have had good progress in harvesting our crops this week!
Kernels of Hope is looking good once again!
The Tiede’s harvested peas in Strathmore, Ron and Fran harvested the canola at Brandon, it ran 31 bu / acre and is already in my elevator! Steve and Lonnie Marvin got the wheat in the bin, it was #1 and went between 40 and 45 bu / acre.
The weather in spring made the outlook for healthy and bountiful crops very dim. Things improved as they went… you never know what’s coming next in farming!
I had a chance to go to Melfort this past week and saw the wheat at the Vanburgstedens and the Arndt’s canola…. the wheat is looking super and the canola has some spots drowned out in the downpour earlier. Neither one is in the bin yet and like I said, anything can happen in farming! The Norquay area was blessed with very good weather this year… we anxiously await reports from there as to how harvest will pan out.
Prices are great too. That helps us raise more money but it also can translate into making food in countries of need like the Congo more expensive and that puts it just out of reach for many people.
Please check the blog by clicking on this www.kernelsofhope.blogspot.com to see recent pictures, stories and thoughts on how we are progressing this year. If you forgot to send any money to help farm this year it is not too late! Address and info is on the top right corner of the blog.
Thanks so much for your time and thoughts and prayers in our excellent adventure!
August 2011
Canola is in many stages in the prairies now! The longer the crop flowers the more seeds will be formed… with the crazy wet spring in the east things are in various % of bloom. Some has even completed setting seed and has been swathed!
Check out the website link below for pictures of the Van Heyst canola and some of the Field of Dreams Day at Hudye’s in Norquay.
Crop prices have been dropping as harvest nears and financial problems are plagueing governments and stock markets. The commodity prices are still healthy compared to most other years.
It remains to be seen how the North American harvests will produce. Many unknowns as always. One thing we do know is that the prices of food in many countries to the people who are most vulnerable have been climbing. Imagine having food in sight but not being able to afford it. That happens more and more these days.
Thank you so much for any help you have been able to provide people in need . If you haven’t sent in any Kernels farming money for this year… It is not too late! Click on the website link below for updates and info on how to help!
http://www.kernelsofhope.blogspot.com/
Gotta go!
The USA grows Soybeans … Canada grows Canola!
They both produce oil and animal feed when processed.
Canola is much more colorful though!
About 40% of the seed of canola is oil.
May 2011
Are you ready to farm with us again this year? If you have been farming with us at Kernels of Hope previously you are invited to farm again in 2011. If you have already contributed this year thanks SO much! You are ahead of the curve! Kernels of Hope allows you to farm virtually… You contribute tax deductible funds to allow me to find several real farmers and pay their input costs and grow crops. Those crops then belong to Kernels of Hope and are given to the Canadian Food Grains Bank through World Relief Canada (WRC). The federal government branch CIDA, then matches the funds we create from real farming at a rate of 4 to 1…. Then WRC works with a partner in North Kivu, Congo and carries out projects that support locals in the Congo who have returned to their land after conflicts to farm on their own again. We are able to provide seed and tools to help them on their way to self sufficiency again!
We have real farmers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba that have been stalled by the cold weather and the wet fields but they are chomping at the bit to get some seed in the ground. I’ll give more info on the fields and farmers as we go! I still need a few confirmations back… Mostly we will be growing canola and wheat… Prices look great this year…
I have the blog up and running where you can check out the big picture every once in awhile www.kernelsofhope.blogspot.com just click on that and it will take you directly there!
If you can help, please write a cheque to ECCC and write Kernels on the note line.
You can mail it to…
ECCC
Box 34025
RPO Fort Richmond
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5T5
Or if you don’t like cheques you can go to the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada website and give online thru Canada Helps. Either way you’ll get a tax receipt.
We suggest it will cost $200 an acre to get a crop in the ground this year. If you can do a portion of an acre or a whole acre or multiple acres it is all so very welcome and it makes such an incredible difference! I’ll send crop updates to you through out the season and show you some of what happens in this wide world of Agriculture! I will also fill you in on the project in North Kivu as we go. Helping Feed the World is getting bigger this year again and is another way for real farmers to participate. Some Farmers have been designating the entire proceeds from 10 acres for Kernels and increasing our produce tremendously!
You can check the blog to see how we Student sized an acre for $20.11 …missing a few Timmies and a show can get you $20.11 to turn into $40 by farming, then into $200 by matching CIDA funds! Multiplication at its very best! We started this at Neelin High Schools musical “Wide Open Spaces” last month.
How ever you choose to help… (even by forwarding this to someone you think would be interested) Please… Grow with us!
Contact Ray at (204) 867-5341 or email Ray!
