B.C. dairy industry filling most of its orders, despite impact of floods
A B.C. dairy farmer says the impact of flooding in the province on her industry has been less severe than it could have been, a fact she attributes to farmers pulling together as a community.
Sarah Sache is a dairy farmer in Chilliwack and the vice chair of the BC Dairy Association. She told CTV News Vancouver on Saturday that the devastating flooding in Abbotsford's Sumas Prairie is no longer hampering B.C.'s milk production for commercial consumption.
"The amount that it's affected the production of milk is not as significant as it could've been," Sache said. "In terms of the provincial production, I think we're back to filling all of the food orders that we're receiving, and then about 80 per cent of industrial orders, so that would be for things like cheese and yogurt."
This is despite the fact that farms on Sumas Prairie account for about 14 per cent of all milk production in B.C., according to Sache.
More than 640,000 animals died in the flooding, provincial Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham announced this week. Relatively few of them were cows, however. B.C. farmers lost 628,000 poultry animals, 12,000 hogs and 420 cows, according to Popham.
Despite those figures, the minister shared Friday that 97 per cent of egg-laying chickens and 98 per cent of cows on farms under evacuation orders because of flooding survived.
In the dairy industry, more than 6,000 cows were moved from affected farms to farms outside the flood zone, according to Sache.
Those animals are part of the reason the industry has been able to largely meet the demand for its products. Relocated cows are still producing milk in their temporary homes, Sache said.
"It's just been amazing to see the community come together and the way that everyone has worked to support each other," she said, adding that relocating that many cattle was a challenge.
"It's not ideal, but it's absolutely worth it to make sure that (cows are) safe and comfortable and fed. We're getting through it as an industry, together."
Sache also stressed that the disaster in Abbotsford is far from over. On Friday, residents of the northern part of Sumas Prairie were allowed to return to their homes for the first time since evacuation orders were issued in mid-November.
Other sections of the prairie are still on evacuation orders, and Mayor Henry Braun said Friday that it could be weeks before all of the floodwater is pumped out of the former Sumas Lake and residents of that area are able to return home.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.