Fraser Valley farmers struggle amid flooding

Thousands of animals have perished due to unprecedented flooding that has affected hundreds of farmers in British Columbia, says the province’s agriculture minister.

“We have many, many more (animals) that are in difficult situations, and we’re seeing an animal welfare issue develop,” said Lana Popham during a joint news conference Nov. 17 with fellow cabinet ministers and Premier John Horgan.

“They need attention, and so with my colleagues, we’re developing routes so that veterinarians can access farms and get to the animals as soon as possible. There will have to be euthanizations that happen, but there are also animals who have survived that are going to be in critical need for food in the next 24 hours.”

Although she singled out the dairy and poultry sectors, provincial officials “do not have any firm numbers on livestock injuries and losses.… Efforts are ongoing to identify and address different sector needs,” said an email by the agriculture ministry.

Horgan said B.C. declared a state of emergency as of noon Nov. 17 due to historic flooding and mudslides caused by record-breaking rainfall. The unfolding crisis has claimed the life of at least one person, he said, adding more fatalities are expected.

Flooding in Abbotsford, B.C., prompted an evacuation order that affected 59 dairy producers in the Sumas Prairie area, Holger Schwichtenberg, chair of the B.C. Dairy Association, said in an interview.

It is within the Fraser Valley region, which contains more than 75 percent of the province’s dairy industry. There have been reports of farmers using everything from canoes to jet skis to move trapped cattle.

“I know there were some losses on the cow side, but I have no sense of numbers, and it’s still evolving,” said Schwichtenberg. “It’s all just coming to light what happened.”

A request for an interview with the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board was not immediately granted Nov. 17.

Multiple highways and rail links remained closed as of Nov. 17, cutting farmers off from feed as well as routes needed to get their goods to market.

“This is an especially difficult time for our livestock producers,” said Popham. “We will make sure that disaster relief funds are available for farmers, and that we’re supporting them in every step of the way.”

The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture said Popham has “spoken to her federal counterparts and we will be looking at an Agri-Recovery package, like we did in the summer with the wildfires, to support farmers through this difficult time.”

Meanwhile, she is “planning to visit the Fraser Valley as soon as it is safe to do so and speak to affected farmers in person.”

During the annual general meeting of Alberta Milk Nov. 17, chief executive officer Jacques Lefebvre of the Dairy Farmers of Canada said his organization is working with the B.C. Dairy Association “and government officials to identify emergency aid, and mid- to longer-term programs that could be leveraged in support of B.C. dairy farmers affected by the floods.”

Popham said although there was a window of up to three days for feed for the dairy and poultry sectors, “those stores are running out now. And some of the food that has been stored is underwater itself, so we’ve made contact with feed mills (and) we’ve made contacts with our colleagues across the nation to try and access food that’s going to be needed to keep these animals healthy.”

 “Over the last few days, I’ve been able to have FaceTime discussions with farmers, and some of them are in their barns. And some of their barns are flooded, and you can see the animals that are deceased, and it’s heartbreaking,” she said, becoming visibly emotional.

Schwichtenberg said dairy producers have been forced to dump their milk because all routes to ship it remained blocked as of Nov. 17.

“(Although) there is a pool contingency for this sort of thing, (any cows that are ) not fed or watered … will just end up drying off and milk production will stop.”

Numerous farms in the “high and dry part of the valley” have taken in the cows of other dairy producers, said Schwichtenberg, who has a dairy farm near Agassiz, B.C.

“I mean, we personally have 30 milking cows that we’ve integrated into our herd and another 13 animals that we have in a little small barn off to the side of the property … and that’s what we can help out — that’s what we can do from our end.”

He particularly praised truckers and other “people that hopped into pick-up trucks and hooked up their trailers and started hauling animals out of the affected areas. It was amazing to watch how the industry comes together.”

The dairy sector contributed $1.2 billion to the province’s gross domestic product in 2019, supporting 12,470 jobs, said a statement by the B.C. Dairy Association.

“In terms of economic impact, milk is the number one land-based agricultural commodity in B.C.”

The flooding follows record-breaking heat waves and wildfires that slammed B.C. this summer, affecting both cows and forage production for dairy farmers who lacked irrigation, said Schwichtenberg.

“From the flame into the fire, we had a long, hot, dry summer, and here we are with record rainfall two months later.”

Horgan linked the two weather extremes to climate change.

“We had more rain in two days than we normally get in an entire November … and I think all British Columbians fully understand that now we have to better prepare for events like this.”

A working group of B.C. cabinet ministers has been formed to deal with the flooding, he said.

“But this is an across-government response. Everyone will be pulling together — there’s not a person that hasn’t been affected or will not be affected by the events of this past weekend.”