Stop Manitoba Provincial Government from flooding and starving 400 cows, calves and bulls!

400 head of pregnant cows, calves and bulls face starvation in the  due to the actions of Manitoba Government and Rural Municipality of Kelsey in the Pas Manitoba. This is taking place in northern Manitoba and winter is coming.

The cattle will begin to starve unless the Manitoba Government and the RM of Kelsey in the Pas Manitoba take action.

In the last six weeks 12,700,800 cubic feet of water have been pumped onto the Berscheid farm by the Pas’ Local Water Pumping Committee (LWPC) of the RM of Kelsey in conjunction with the office of Blaine Pederson, Manitoba Minister of Infrastructure. The only way that Tim Berscheid can access his cattle herd is by canoe. He risks his life daily to canoe across freezing water to feed his herd.

His herd is surrounded by 4 to 8 feet of water. He cannot transport animal feed without risking his own life or the lives of his family. He cannot get his equipment through the water. The calves can’t swim and the cows won’t leave their calves.

The flooding was caused by mismanagement of a system of dikes, drainage ditches, and pumps which are used to direct water from the farmland back into the Saskatchewan River. The RM of Kelsey Local Water Pumping Committee (LWPC) in conjunction with Manitoba’s provincial government is responsible for maintaining and managing water levels. Their careless actions and grave miscalculations have now turned into a nightmare for Tim Berscheid, his wife Michele and family.

The RM of the Pas has flooded the winter feed that Mr. Berscheid worked so diligently to grow this past summer. Wet bales can grow bacteria that can make the feed unsafe for the pregnant cows to consume. All of the spoiled feed will be discarded so he has lost much of the winter feed supply for the herd.

Local officials must act to save these cows and this family's livelihood NOW before it is too late!!

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Since the Berscheids started farming in 1990, they have had some occasional flooding occur on some of their land. Like most farm families, they and their four daughters worked hard to operate their family farm. The girls help raise the cattle and named the cows and knew them by sight. The cows are very tame and gentle and the family is able to walk among the herd even when they are calving. The mother cows allow the family to tend the baby calves even when the cows are birthing.

Tim took on a secondary job in The Pas to help support his family and the farm. Michele stayed home to tend to the girls and the cattle herd. They are a typical farming family who love the land and their animals but now deliberate massive flooding by Municipal and Provincial Authorities has destroyed their pastures and is threatening their herd with starvation.

Since 1990’s, the Berscheids have been working with the Manitoba government and the Rural Municipality of the Pas to ensure that the water levels are effectively managed and/or drained from their lands. These current high water levels are being caused by water being deliberately redirected from other farms in the RM’s Valley area using massive pumps. This huge amount of water is now flooding their property. There are four culverts, 8 feet in diameter, which should be used to drain and maintain water levels in the drainage system. These culverts are either plugged or the gates are broken so they are rendered inoperable. There is barely a trickle of water coming out of the culverts when there should be a huge flow.

There are pumps that could be used to drain the water, but one of the pumps has not been repaired for months and the others were just started last week after six weeks of flooding on the Berscheid farm. The water channel that should drain the water away to the Saskatchewan River has been blocked with debris and also not maintained by the Municipality and the Manitoba Government.

The flooding of this local farm has been an ongoing issue for 6 weeks since the pumps were turned on and now has reached a critical level. The water has isolated 400 pregnant cows and calves on a very small patch of land with feed supplies quickly diminishing. Because of the high water level, this island cannot be safely accessed by vehicle or barge.

The Berscheids have been in communication with the office of Blaine Pederson, the Minister of Infrastructure and with the RM of the Pas. In 1990’s, the Province of Manitoba promised in writing that it would maintain a certain maximum water level in the drainage channels around the farm. The Province has not upheld this written agreement and has failed to maintain the necessary drainage equipment and structures.

Because the Manitoba Government and the RM of the Pas are responsible for managing water levels in the municipality, they knew when they turned on the pumps where the water would flow. They only pumped it onto the Berscheid farm and made no attempts to pump the water off of the farm into the Saskatchewan River.

This flooding is intentional and deliberate and now these animals may pay the price with their lives and ruin a family farm.

So once again, it is clearly demonstrated to us, that when you need your elected government officials the most, they are nowhere to be found nor are they willing to provide any type of assistance.

The Berscheid’s attempts to contact the provincial departments and get action from the Municipal government regarding their issues/concerns have received no response from anyone at any level of government.

Meanwhile, the icy water surrounds the herd, winter is coming, and the herd will have no safe food supply in two days.