Derecho dealt a heavy blow to beekeepers, maple syrup producers

A path of uprooted trees and domino-effect toppling was the result of a Derecho that whipped through Jamie Fortune’s Almonte, Ont.- area maple forests last month. 

“Practically, as maple farmers and forest managers, we respect natural forces, but they create danger and a lot of work and expense,” said the owner of Fortune Farms. 

On May 21, 2022, a Derecho, a straight-line hurricane-force wind, screamed across Ontario, spawning tornados, downing buildings, trees and hydro infrastructure, resulting in the loss of life and livestock. 

Why it matters: Extreme weather events show up in the news when buildings are damaged, but other farming areas are also disrupted and aren’t as obvious.

Mother Nature has dealt the Fortunes more than one tough hand. In 1997 a microburst destroyed two acres of trees and approximately 200 taps. The 1998 ice storm caused them to lose an additional 500 taps. He said those storm replacement trees are coming online now and won’t hit peak production for another 10 years.

“It’s gut-wrenching when you go in there and see these trees you’ve been working with; well, I’ve been farming them for 50 years,” he said. “They’ve been productive trees for that long, and now they’re no longer productive.”

This time 95 per cent of his trees escaped significant damage, but 30 to 40 per cent of his pipelines were affected.

Fortune said he’s grateful he’s capable with machinery and physically able to tackle clean up, and their operation can supply the labour and equipment to rebuild. Otherwise, it would be a different story.

Kevin Varley, Josslin Insurance Agri/Commerical specialist, said it would be weeks before the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario places a dollar value on the storm’s damage and a month for Farm Mutual Reinsurance to release farm-specific figures.

“This is a really critical time of year for honey production and beekeeping, said Jennifer Doelman, Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) director for the Ottawa area.

“With honeybees, you split hives to manage parasites and provide breeding stock for the new year and new beekeepers.”

Nucs – tiny boxes holding mini beehives – are sold to commercial or smaller beekeepers looking to expand, replace overwinter mortalities, or start hives. Doelman said despite bee yard protection against seasonal winds, they can’t withstand damage from extreme weather events like tornados or Derechos.

If bees survived those events and found each other again, the likelihood of them returning to the original bee yard is slim.

“Bees need a colony to survive; they need the hive. It’s like a factory being blown off its foundation and its workers scattered with the wind,” Doelman said. “And then expecting it to be up and running again in a week? Maybe there are a few survivors, but it’s never going to be what it was before.”

She was told in confidence that an Ontario beekeeper suffered approximately $145,000 in losses when the Derecho destroyed nearly 60 colonies. Doelman said it would take years to recover the lost genetics and rebuild from a loss like that if the beekeeper decides to continue.

Theoretically, if you lost a building or equipment was damaged, insurance would cover your losses if you had a wind damage policy. But if you’re a beekeeper or maple syrup producer, there generally is no coverage for the bees themselves or the trees, only equipment.

Bee operation hives are insurable for specific causes of loss and when they’re in an enclosed building, but not while in a field, said Varley. Maple syrup operations can insure lines, equipment and facilities, but not tree damage.

While business interruption insurance provides some buffer for losses, it’s critical to ensure that you have the right policy.

“Sometimes, either the brokers or the clients will take some shortcuts and insure just based on the gross earnings,” Varley said.

A gross earnings policy allows the collection of 25 per cent of the sum insured every 30 days. Still, the maple syrup industry has a 60-to-90-day crop window each year, making having the right coverage and time limit, including the indemnity period, which may only be 12 months, vital.

“The last thing is to make sure the insurance company you’re with can service that product,” he said. “And in the event of a catastrophe, whether it be a large, widespread event or a particular event for that client, the insurance company could look after them.”

One of the challenges created by the pandemic for brokers has been the proper valuation of used equipment because supply chain issues, the U.S. dollar, and trucks and equipment heading south of the border have driven up prices.

“I’ve never had to actually increase the cost of used equipment as much as I have in the last three years,” he said. “It’s always depreciated because of the age, the hours ­– that type of thing. And because they can’t get it new, it’s driving the cost of used up.”

Varley suggested that weather-driven events will change how insurance companies calculate premiums.

“For years, fire was the biggest peril for premium calculation; today, I would say that’s likely number three in what we call causes of loss,” he said. “Ahead of that is wind and water.”

Varley said with temperatures hitting the 30s plus humidex in April and May, instead of mid-June to August, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events, there will likely be changes in insurance due to climate change.

Neighbours, emergency responders and hydro crews have been working tirelessly to help clean the damage up and get rural dwellers online, said Doelman. For example, one farmer’s outreach to an Ottawa city councillor resulted in city water being trucked out to livestock operations to ensure animals had fresh water.

Doelman said farmers are tenacious, but she’s concerned once the adrenaline subsides and everyone is tired and cash-strapped, time will reveal the mental health toll.

“People (need to) realize that just because the city power was back on doesn’t mean everybody else is back to normal,” she said. “(There are) people grieving (because) third generation family farms were levelled, animals injured, people killed. These are all things that take their toll.”