Volunteer trucks and harvesters will be getting underway on Thursday to throw in a helping hand for the Taber and District Foodgrains Project harvest, set to begin at noon.
This season won’t see a record crop for the project.
“Not the greatest,” said board member Bruce Warkentin. “The crop hasn’t been doing too well, and we seeded late, and we’re harvesting late. It’s been spotty, so we’re not expecting huge yields.”
This year’s barley silage crop was seeded only on May 20, on a 130 acre plot of land two miles south of Taber on Highway 36.
Despite crop woes, Warkentin is expecting a good turnout of volunteers and supporters to help with the harvest or take in the luncheon at noon, which is being provided by the Knights of Columbus.  
“For the luncheon, we usually expect about 150 people--we plan for that many. In terms of working, there’ll be 10 to 15. There will be barley silage harvesters, and the swathing will happen the day before, there’s a couple of people that are going to be swathing. The day of, we’ll have about eight trucks and a couple of tractors to put it in a silage bin.”
Getting a guaranteed 400 per cent return on the investment with the help of the federal government should go a long way towards assuaging fears of a below average harvest, according to Warkentin.
“Taber and District Foodgrains has raised money for feeding hungry people throughout the world. For every dollar we raise, the government matches it four to one, so there’s a big benefit for us to do this, because if we raise $50,000, the government matches it by $200,000. So $50,000 becomes $250,000.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the project can contact a board member or mail their contribution to the Taber and District Foodgrains Project c/o 4909 40th Street, Taber, AB, T1G 1C8.