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Tornado
While the debate over the causes of climate change and how to tackle the issue on a large scale continues, the fact that the climate is changing is undeniable. Extreme weather incidents are occurring more frequently and it has become even more essential that Canadian farmers are prepared for emergencies and disasters.
An emergency management factsheet prepared by the BC Ministry of Agriculture provides both general tips that would apply to any producer and some specific tips for certain events or certain types of livestock producers. The full factsheet can be found on the BC Agriculture website.
First off is to understand what disasters are the most likely to impact your property — have there been significant disasters in your area in the past? It’s also essential to understand how one would receive the warnings, such as emergency broadcasts. In some provinces there are programs such as the British Columbia Premises ID, which would provide rapid notifications to livestock and poultry producers.
During the panic of an emergency situation, it can be easy to overlook things. That’s why it’s important beforehand to prepare a detailed list of your farm inventory, including livestock, machinery, fertilizer, pesticides and fuel. That list should be updated at least once a year. Much of that same info should also be included in a farm site map that indicates buildings, access routes, barriers, livestock locations, waste storage, drainage ditches and electrical panels. This map should be easily accessibly both to yourself and to emergency responders.
Other important lists to compile include a list of phone contacts for local emergency management, veterinarians and businesses that provided services to your farm and people who may be able to assist on short notice with an evacuation. You should also ensure that several people both on and off the farm are either aware of these plans, or at least know where to find them.
Aside from the loss of livestock or damage to infrastructure, one of the most significant risks for long term issues is hazardous materials on-site. As such, farmers should make all efforts to remove trash and empty septic tanks on a frequent basis. You should also be wary of stockpiling excess amounts of chemicals or other hazardous materials on site. These materials such as fertilizer, pesticides and fuel, should be stored in secure areas, such as on high shelves.
With regards to flooding, you should keep a supply of materials such as ropes, sandbags, plywood, plastic sheeting and lumber on hand for emergency waterproofing. If possible, farm equipment and supplies should be moved to high ground, and chemicals should be stored away from flood levels.
The government of Manitoba has similar factsheets on their website, including one with tips for flooding. Their sheet notes that producers need to ensure that livestock have access to feed and water on high ground, or they will need to arrange for additional feed onsite if the herd cannot be moved or if local roads are blocked. Producers must also take steps to protect grain from flooding and to move grain out of the path of flooding as soon as possible.
The full factsheets, and many others on emergency preparedness, can be found on their respective websites. The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association also has a Canada FarmSafe Plan form available on their website which should be helpful in planning and preparation. Farmers should also check in with their own province’s department of agriculture, for information specific to your area.
Evolving weather needs evolving strategies
While the tips provided by provincial agricultural authorities are indispensable in helping to plan for storms and extreme weather events, as the climate is changing, so too must emergency preparedness evolve.
Powerful storms can cause significant issues even if all appropriate measures are taken, so new measures should be considered.
In recent years in PEI, two farms have been charged under the federal fisheries act for fish kills that have resulted from heavy rainfall washing soil and pesticides into waterbodies. David Mol, president of the PEI Federation of Agriculture, says that both farmers had followed standard protocols, and one had actually won environmental awards and was a leading farm in many ways.
“The farmer had taken all the proper measures — set back and proper zones and so forth to cover normal circumstances,” says Mol. “But this was an extreme weather event. The farmer had taken his due diligence, but this was an unexpected event. The farmer ended up getting charged under the fisheries act and will be going to court in the near future.”
Mol says that in the face of this issue, the federation has reached out to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and provincial environmental organizations to sit down and form a task force with a goal of developing a concept of what due diligence means in our modern weather context, so that farmers who do everything they can and follow procedures don’t end up in court for unavoidable circumstances.
“Barring everybody building a ten foot dyke around their farms to keep the rain water in, there’s nothing you can do in some of these cases,” says Mol. “We call these extreme weather events but the extreme is becoming more the norm. We should try to get ahead of this, to come up with some new standards that are doable.”
— Matt Jones