Funding for B.C. farmers impacted by devastating floods on its way

As a majority of farmers in B.C. return to clean up after the devastation the floods left, Agriculture Minister says, “it’s almost a question of where do you start?”

From over 1,000 farms under evacuation orders, Lana Popham says that number has gradually receded to about 30 farms still under an order.

“Everything is covered in really bad mud right now and so just being able to have access to clean water to wash away that debris is challenging for these folks.”

The mess has led to difficult days for many and they’re now burdened with figuring out how to move forward, Popham says.

“I think the tone out there from farmers is that they just want to get back to work as soon as possible. And so part of that is assessing the damage and being able to give them the financial support they need to rebuild.”

The province is inspecting the soil condition in the Fraser Valley, “and we’ll be implementing those assessments in the coming weeks,” Popham says.

“This is going to be really important as farmers are going to have to make decisions about this coming growing season,” she added.

“What needs to be replanted? What can be planted? And how does the soil have to be remediated? This is all in question for many folks right now. And it’s quite overwhelming. But as we see those assessments come back, we’ll have paths forward for folks to move ahead.”

Popham says an Agri-recovery program is in the works, with hopes it will benefit as many people as possible impacted by the recent rainstorms.

“From one end of the spectrum to the other — there’s chicken farmers right now in the Sumas Prairie that are back into production almost fully, they’ve cobbled together some of their barns, and they’re making it work. To the other end of the spectrum where we see large-scale vegetable production that is absolutely in some cases still under a lot of water and of course, this layer of mud, and so every farm is going to be a different situation.

Popham says those in the blueberry industry are very concerned about their plants as hundreds of acres of blueberries in the Sumas Prairie were soaking in water over eight feet at one point because of the storm.

“I know that some blueberry plants, if they’re older,  have a better chance of surviving. But we have a lot of new plantings that won’t make it … but to be able to have a roundtable with them on Monday is going to be able to give them some good information on what they need to prepare as they move forward as far as applications to different programs.”

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The minister adds she will be back out in the Fraser Valley touring a vegetable farm, land-based fish farms that were destroyed and a blueberry processing plant.

Additionally, Popham says the province will be addressing financial aid resources for those who urgently need it, such as those who need to feed livestock.

She says the province has secured about $1 million in funding to immediately help farmers who need hay and forage.

“We’re trying to avoid any animal welfare issues. So as soon as that application is available, we’ll be making sure that folks who need it will get it into their hands.”

The province will be releasing two programs to ease the burden for livestock producers in the next few days as they look towards the winter with limited feed.

Popham adds the province has secured feed for people in Merritt, but those who need it will need to fill out some applications.

With financial aid programs in the works, Popham urges farmers affected by floods to hold on to receipts.

“Recording any expenses that you’ve incurred since the floods, and making sure that you’ve got the records and even a photo journal would help. So these Agra recovery applications come forward, we’re going to need all the information that you’ve gathered since those floods happened. So that’s probably the best way that you can be prepared for that coming up in the next few weeks.”