Of all the devastation caused by the overflow of the Nooksack River that flooded the Sumas Prairie this past November, dairy farms were hit particularly hard. The Sumas Prairie is home to the majority of Abbotsford’s dairy cows. 428 dairy cows died during the floods and 6,000 were evacuated and temporarily moved to other farms.
An outpouring of support was offered by the agricultural community to house cows from the 62 dairy farms that had to be evacuated during the floods. Sarah Sache, vice chair and director of BC Dairy, took in calves on her dairy farm in Rosedale. As the vice chair of the BC Dairy Association, Sache has worked closely with Fraser Valley dairy farmers in the last couple of months to assist in their recovery.
“It’s a challenge in that it’s going to be a long process and everyone is affected so differently,” said Sache. “We’re still working together with farmers to assess their long term needs.”
Sache told The Cascade that most farmers were able to return to their farms with their cows and resume milk production. However, a widespread problem faced by these farmers is a lack of housing. Their homes got destroyed by the flood and many are living in borrowed RVs on their properties. While many homes had the drywall and insulation taken out when the flood waters receded, these homes in-repair are now frozen due to the cold snap.
Another issue facing these farmers is a shortage of feed for their livestock. This past summer’s heat dome already reduced the amount of feed available for livestock, so it was a crushing loss to have even more feed lost in the floods.
“A lot of the feed was damaged for the animals,” said Sache. “We didn’t have a good growing year to start with, and that affected the quality and volume of feed, and anything that got wet was definitely damaged. So a lot of [feed] is ruined, and it’s hard to replace because it hasn’t been a good growing year in the prairies either.”
“Hay prices are high everywhere,” Gary Baars, owner of TNT agricultural services told CBC. “I kept thinking it was a bit of a bubble but between inflation, increased fertilizer and fuel prices and a lack of supply, there’s going to be a serious feed shortage.”
The community is still rallying together to support these farmers during their recovery. Facebook groups like “Helping Sumas Prairie Farmers” are still collecting and distributing supplies and donations to those in need. Hey Neighbour is another local organization that offers a variety of resources to those affected by the floods, including dairy farmers.
“The community support was incredible … every help you could imagine showed up,” said Sache. “[Volunteers] saw to clean up, people and animals being fed, there are still donations of jackets and boots and mitts, it just keeps going. To see that kind of care and concern for others when people were struggling was special.”
These farmers still have a long way to go to normalcy, and the dairy industry still has to consider long-term strategies for dealing with the extreme weather conditions that climate change will continue to bring.
“Even if you have evacuation plans, they don’t contemplate a disaster of this scale,” said Sache. “I accept that this is not the only time that something is going to happen at this scale, so that will be something that we will be working on as an industry going forward.”
Image: City of Abbotsford
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
