Record-setting drought, rainfall, then snowfall have made for an interesting year in Manitoba's agriculture which could have an effect on the fight against world hunger.

Gordon Janzen, The Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFB) representative for northwestern Ontario and all of Manitoba, hopes this drawn-out harvest will not have a large impact on their international work.

"We have lots of support from the farming community," says Janzen.

"One of the ways that they contribute is through Growing Projects. Right now we have about 36 Growing Projects across the province."

The community Growing Projects are a collaborative harvesting effort where all the proceeds of that designated field's harvest go towards the CFB.

A highlight for Janzen this year was getting to join the two days of harvest in Roblin and Swan River a mere 24 hours before the winter storm on Thanksgiving weekend hit the province.

Other regions in Manitoba were not as fortunate.

Janzen says that this year, the harvest has been stretched out across several months since mid-August. The soybean crops in southern Manitoba have just begun to be harvested in November.

"Those [soybeans] have been caught in the very wet weather in September and October and, finally, with the cold temperatures, the ground has frozen and firmed up enough that the soybean farmers are able to get on the land," says Janzen.

The CFB is not yet sure how a season like this will impact its overall donations, as the Growing projects contribute a large portion to their efforts in ending global hunger. 

Janzen says, "It's hard to say. We'll have a better idea about that at the end of the year.

"At this point, we are optimistic that the contributions from farmers and Growing Projects won't be too far behind previous years."