Fraser Valley (Rural Roots Canada) – The agriculture community is pulling together to help farmers devastated by the B.C. floods.

The flood has forced the evacuations of 959 farms across the Fraser Valley.

The B.C. Dairy Association says farmers who haven’t been flooded out have been taking on cows that were rescued making sure they are milked, fed, and cared for.

B.C. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Lana Popham says right now the priority is to make sure everyone remains safe.

She says they will be looking at all of the provincial and federal assistance programs at their disposal to assist producers.

“All of the insurance programs within the Ministry of Agriculture will be looked at to see if we can be able to support the requests and claims that come in, but farmers are also going to be eligible for disaster relief, which they haven’t been in the past at that point,” says Popham.

She adds they will also need to assess what else needs to be done.

“I’ve spoken with Minister Bibeau, the Federal Minister of Agriculture, and she has assured me that we will be able to have support for these farmers.”

She says between the federal and provincial tools available they should be able to get them back on their feet.

“We haven’t got to the point of assessment yet, we hope to be doing that as soon as things stop unfolding as they are.”

The province has put together a list of things to remember when moving livestock for information click here.

She says they have secured the feed they need right now and will be bringing it in by helicopter when needed.

However, she says they will also need assistance from farmers outside of B.C.

“I can tell you that there have been so many contacts made from out of province asking if we need feed for the future, and I think we are going to have to be taking advantage of those generous offers because we have feed for now for the Fraser Valley, but we’re going to need some into the winter and spring.”

Popham says they have about 35 veterinarians on stand-by to help, many of which have come from Alberta.

The B.C. Dairy Association says their thoughts are with everyone affected right now and are thankful to everyone who has reached out to support.

It has set up a way to donate to help farmers:

Electronic transfers can be made to floodrecovery@bcdairy.ca.

Donations by direct deposit can be made to:

British Columbia Dairy Association
Transit #: 00320
Bank #: 003
Account #: 1002658
Remittance email: floodrecovery@bcdairy.ca

If you are an evacuee needing resources:

The BC Chicken Marketing Board has also put together a list of resources to help those affected by the flood.

http://bcchicken.ca/news/resources-and-support-for-bc-flood-relief/

The BC Agricultural Council has also set up a fund to help, it can be found by clicking here.

AgSafe has also put together a list of resources for those affected.

Flooding