Farmers devastated by floods from BC return to belly-wearing scenes

Fields in Abbotsford, BC, remained covered in water on November 23, just over a week after the ‘atmospheric river’ fell more than a month’s rain in southern BC. in less than two days.Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mail

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Casey Guliker burst into tears as he saw what was left on his pig farm in Abbotsford, BC

The young farmer and other staff had done their best to protect what they could when heavy rains began to fall on November 14, triggering massive floods that would paralyze much of the province’s southern region. They prioritized their many pigs and moved them to higher terrain.

But much of the Sumas prairie on which his farm lies was completely submerged on top of the storm. Marks left on the side of a barn show that floods reached two meters; Mr. Guliker’s dog was later rescued from the roof of the stable.

The farmer says he can not assess how many pigs he lost, but says he returned to a stomach-wearing scene.

“I do not know how many animals died,” said Mr. Guliker on Tuesday in an interview on the farm while he worked on wiping out some heavy machinery. “Not all of our efforts paid off, but we can rest with a clear conscience that we did the best for the animals.”

Casey Guliker, top, is co-owner of a pig farm in Abbotsford. His farm was one of many that flooded: At the bottom, Google Earth video of the landscape before the flooding around the Trans-Canada Highway is compared to aerial footage from November 22nd.
Photo by Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mail; video from Google Earth, Andrea Woo / The Globe and Mail

The flood that dumped a month’s rain to the southern BC. in less than two days, created an agricultural disaster in the Fraser Valley, where the bulk of the province’s food production takes place. Multigenerational farmers who saw their family businesses collapse, along with their homes, have also been left to deal with catastrophic mortality and biohazard risks from animals caught in the flood. The death toll is at least tens of thousands.

Blueberry and vegetable crops have also been destroyed, and some farmers say they do not know if they will spend the next few years replanting and starting over.

BC Agriculture Secretary Lana Popham, who made a flyover of Fraser Valley on Tuesday and met with about 30 farmers in Abbotsford, said there were many common tears and hugs.

“Farmers are really worried right now about removing dead animals,” she told a news conference Wednesday. “We have a place in Abbotsford where people take calls; there is a number where people can call to have animals removed. We know there is a lot of grief that farmers feel around this problem. Farmers, just know, that there are people on the other end of the phones who understand how difficult it is for you. “

Ms. Popham said the province is working with local governments to identify landfill capacity and possible incineration sites. Likewise, BC is working with Ottawa to develop an agricultural program whose details are expected in the coming days, she said.

At the top lies waste from farms in the river water at Abbotsford on 19 November; a day later, members of the Canadian Armed Forces basically help move chickens from a flood-hit farm.Jonathan Hayward / CP and Reuters

In Sumas Prairie this week, one could still see tractors pulling vehicles out of floods that have completely enclosed some properties.

On a poultry farm, a front loader cleared floating piles of chicken carcasses from their water-filled stables. Feet and beak protruded from the brown sludge. Behind the stables, fans blew through the entire farmhouse and dried out structures that were exempt from drywall, while a small crew worked to repair extensive damage from the flood.

The day the rain hit, a huge volunteer effort was mobilized here. Dozens of friends, neighbors and strangers – some of them brought kayaks – helped with sandbags around the barn until the last possible minute, when a vehicle could be seen floating down the street, and they were all ordered to leave the property. The water reached a meter and killed the chickens below the waterline.

The owner says he estimates they rescued 50,000 birds, but he does not want to think about how many were lost. He cries and gestures against the heavy machinery in action, and he need say no more.

The Globe and Mail does not name the farmer because he is concerned about setbacks from animal rights groups.

He says the situation has made him “extremely emotional” and that he will not forget the humanity it revealed. A woman he did not know came with a pot of soup and three children’s drawings, including one of a red barn with a gray roof, along with the words, “I’m so sorry about what happened,” and a heart. The man broke down in tears and looked at the colorful drawings and said he hoped one day to find the family and thank them.

Abbotsford’s farms make up the bulk of BC’s egg, poultry and milk production. Next to a road, a merchant put up a sign thanking the local community for their support.Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mail

“It’s big and very emotional for the producers,” said Abbotsford chicken farmer Ray Nickel about the continued clean-up efforts. Mr. Nickel is the director of the BC Chicken Marketing Board and has helped coordinate the relief effort throughout the week.

“Producers will take their dead birds and either compost them in the barn or transport them off-site – they have to deal with that mass mortality.” After these carcasses are removed, the farms need to be cleaned and disinfected, he said.

He called the process “overwhelming”, but said the experience of mass casualties that came as a result of the heat dome this summer helped prepare farmers this time around. He said hundreds of thousands of birds died from the heat dome and he expects the victims of floods to be the same.

“Over the next few days, we’ll get a much better idea of ​​the full effect,” he said.

A spokesman for the BC Egg Marketing Board said one of the seven egg farms in Sumas Prairie is believed to be completely destroyed.

‘We suspect that a farm with about 8,000 layers [laying hens] is a total loss, ”Amanda Brittain said in a statement. “This means that the birds have died, plus that the barn and equipment have been damaged without repair.”

When the water recedes, some cattle are safe to graze on the moist fields.Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mail

The BC Dairy Association estimates that about 500 of about 23,000 cattle in the Fraser Valley died in the floods. About 6,000 were evacuated to other farms, and close to 16,000 remain on their own farms. Some cattle may need to be euthanized due to flooding health problems.

Ms. Popham told the press conference on Wednesday about Abbotsford dairy farmers Karl and Rudi Meier, who had 180 cows up to their necks in water.

“The brothers went in and fed these cows hay for two days while those cows were immersed in that water,” the minister said. “On Wednesday, the water receded, the cows are doing well, they are online again, and they are milking those cows.”

BC Pork did not return a request for comment Wednesday. Ms. Popham said it would take another week or two before officials could gain access to stables to make official counts, but that she believed about 20,000 pigs were dead.

Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun says he has received notes from farmers who are grateful for how the farming community has come together to support each other.

“But among this gratitude, there is also a deep grief over the losses that friends, family and community members face,” he said Monday. “We know the consequences of the events of the past week will be long lasting.”

Bonus podcast: Farms and the Floods

Journalists Andrea Woo and Ann Hui spoke on The Globe and Mail’s news podcast about the situation on the ground in Abbotsford and what impact it will have on food supplies. Subscribe for more episodes.

(Back to the top)

BC Flood: More from The Globe and Mail

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