Freezing weather compounds challenges for B.C. farmers dealing with flood aftermath
Flood-damaged facilities may see worse effects from the freeze, says B.C. Agriculture Council president
Dave Martens is working on rebuilding his poultry farm and his home, which he hasn't been able to live in since the Sumas Prairie region east of Abbotsford, B.C., was hit by floods triggered by historic rainfall in November.
"Currently I'm at the point of trying to dry things out still," said Martens of the two farm houses he owns, one of which he lives in. "You hear people talk about people being back in their homes and things like that. That might be true for some, but not the majority."
Martens hasn't been able to live in one of the farm homes since Nov. 15, and wasn't able to access it until Dec. 5. With temperatures dipping to nearly -16 C, recent days have been spent protecting the top floor of the home that wasn't damaged by floodwater, setting up heaters and trying to prevent pipes from freezing.
He says there are other people in the region who are in a more precarious situation, with more cold weather on the way.
"There were a lot of homes that probably froze solid," he said. "Some didn't have power. Some of them didn't have their meters replaced yet."
The farm he spent more than 30 years building, Martens is trying to rebuild in a year.
Martens, who told CBC in November that he lost 40,000 birds in the floods, says he was lucky to have recently secured the last generator a supplier had in stock.
"If I didn't take that, I wouldn't see a generator until maybe ... August or September," he said. "So I wouldn't be putting any birds back in my farm there until after that time."
Cold weather provide unique challenges
Stan Vander Waal, president of the B.C. Agriculture Council, says the recent cold snap has affected each farm differently depending on insulation and whether livestock are in a barn or outdoors.
The cold tends to increase costs across the board, however, whether it means greater demand for more heating or additional feed for livestock that burn energy to stay warm.
Facilities damaged in the floods may see worse effects from the freeze because of moisture in the structures, he says.
Given the number of extreme weather events this year, Vander Waal says he believes many farmers may consider increasing climate protections on their farms.
"When we look at the year in review, we've seen many extremes that we haven't seen or many of us can remember,'' Vander Waal said.
"Once you experience them one or two times, you start developing a strategy.''
Vander Waal owns Rainbow Greenhouses in Chilliwack, B.C. In his case, a strategy for coping with icy temperatures means ensuring thermal curtains are up to date, any leaks are sealed and construction is as energy efficient as possible.
Rip and replace
Harry Sidhu, a blueberry farmer in Abbotsford, said Monday that he surveyed some fields which had been submerged in water for weeks, and found blueberry canes that had been damaged.
He saw signs of bacterial blight — a fungal disease — in the canes, "which is not good," Sidhu said.
Normally January is a time for pruning, but Sidhu says that's not happening as some fields can't be saved.
"A lot of these fields aren't going to make it," he said.
He estimates 36 hectares of the family farm need to be replaced. He has talked to provincial officials about the need for a "rip and replace" program to help farmers replant fields.
"They should be fully compensated 100 per cent for this because this is a disaster," he said.
Life goes on
Chelsea Meier of U&D Meier Dairy Ltd. 1 in the Sumas Prairie says her home has been without a furnace and her family had to rely on space heaters and wood stoves, and cover windows with towels and blankets to keep warm. They also recently had to deal with a burst pipe.
She says the challenges posed by the cold weather has further complicated things, with them juggling farming duties, dealing with insurance companies and planning for renovations.
"Farming doesn't stop," Meier said.
With files from The Canadian Press