Tragedy on the Fraser hits B.C. farmers hard

Thousands of farm animals perished and many more were endangered due to unprecedented flooding and mudslides that have affected hundreds of producers in British Columbia.

Farmers in sectors such as dairy, poultry and eggs were particularly hard hit because they are concentrated in the Fraser Valley, the scene of some of the heaviest flooding.

The disaster severed many of the province’s road and rail links, forcing B.C. to declare a state of emergency Nov. 17. The collapse of the transportation system, which left many farmers unable to ship their products, had them scrambling to get feed, water and veterinary care for their animals.

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said Nov. 19 she wanted to tell “farmers right now that have had no sleep and are going through an incredibly emotional, difficult time: ‘Thank you for all of your efforts.’

“I know you’re helping each other. You’re working with your communities and you’re trying to get back online, and all of our hearts are with you.”

The flooding has followed record-breaking heat waves and wildfires that affected both cows and forage for dairy farms without irrigation, said Holger Schwichtenberg, chair of the B.C. Dairy Association. “From the flame into the fire, we had a long, hot, dry summer, and here we are with record rainfall two months later.”

B.C. Premier John 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.”

Popham said Nov. 17 thousands of farm animals had died due to the flooding and “many, many more” faced difficult situations. She later added 959 farmers were under evacuation order as of Nov. 19, with 164 remaining under evacuation alert.

About 50,600 acres of farmland were affected by flooding, with about 35,000 acres of that designated as agricultural land reserve. The military has assisted with livestock, including moving live chickens from some barns into safer facilities.

“Water and emergency feed continue to be a high priority for the Ministry of Agriculture,” she said Nov. 20, pointing to an airdrop by helicopter of four tonnes of feed for up to 5,000 hogs at a farm in Abbotsford.

She said Nov. 22 a feed storage site had been set up in Abbotsford, “and we’ve made excellent progress securing a stable grain supply through the co-operative efforts of all levels of government. This is going to be significant as we are able to keep livestock fed in the days ahead.”

She said B.C. has also received “extremely generous” offers of feed from the federal government, Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the state of Washington.

Fifty-nine dairy producers were affected by an evacuation order for the Sumas Prairie area near Abbotsford. More than 75 percent of the province’s dairy sector is in the Fraser Valley.

Schwichtenberg said numerous dairy farms in the “high and dry” part of the valley took in the cows of their fellow producers.

“I know there were some losses on the cow side, but I have no sense of numbers and it’s still evolving,” he said Nov. 17.

As someone with a farm near Agassiz, he was looking after “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 (do to) help out — that’s what we can do from our end.”

He 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.”

However, lack of access to roads meant many dairy producers couldn’t ship their milk for processing, forcing them to dump it. Although “there is a pool contingency” to take care of the financial impact, any cows that are not fed or watered will dry off, stopping milk production, he said.

About 80 percent of the province’s egg sector is in the Abbotsford and Chilliwack areas in the Fraser Valley, said Amanda Brittain, director of communications and marketing for the B.C. Egg Marketing Board. There were nearly 290,000 birds in the evacuation zone at Sumas Prairie as of Nov. 18.

“We had to tell farmers they had to leave, they had to leave their barns and leave their birds, and it’s quite a devastating situation… it seems extremely likely that some birds will have perished.”

Although producers outside the zone can store their eggs in coolers on their farms as they await the reopening of transportation links, their limit will likely be reached over a seven- to 10-day period, said Brittain. “We’re hoping to be able to get trucks out to them to pick up those eggs and get them into the grocery stores quickly.”

About 80 percent of the province’s poultry industry is also in the Fraser Valley, said director Ray Nickel of the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board.

He estimated about 60 poultry producers had been affected as of Nov. 18 out of about 525 in the province, with about 40 of those in the high-risk zone.

Many producers are part of family farms handed down over multiple generations, he said.

“I have concern about poultry producers being under stress for the sake of their livelihood and their farm operations and their families.”

Abbotsford is also the location of B.C.’s Animal Health Centre, which is one of the leading veterinary labs in Western Canada. It was closed on Nov. 16 due to flooding, affecting things such as disease testing and testing of milk supplies, said Popham.

Alberta Agriculture Minister Nate Horner said Nov. 18 his ministry had been working with counterparts in B.C. “to see how we can assess their needs and whether that means picking up diagnostic tests.”

Popham said help has also been offered by Saskatchewan and Ontario.