'Local heroes': B.C. dairy farmers fed cows submerged to their necks in water for 2 days, agriculture minister says
Farmers in B.C.'s flood-stricken Fraser Valley are demonstrating just how resilient and persevering they can be in the face of recent storms.
Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said Wednesday members of her team visited Abbotsford and spoke with the mayor and local farmers about the impacts last week's storm and floods have had on the community.
Popham said the sector has been hit hard, but "pretty amazing stories" are emerging, including one of two brothers, Carl and Rudy Meyer, who spent days feeding dozens of dairy cows that were submerged in water.
"The waters came up so fast (last) Monday, they couldn't get their livestock out and so 180 dairy cows were up to their necks in water," Popham said she was told by Holger Schwichtenberg, chair of the BC Dairy Association’s board.
"Those brothers went in and fed those cows hay for two days while those cows were submerged in that water."
Popham said she was told the waters receded last Wednesday and all the cows are fine and are back to being milked.
"So huge kudos to Carl and Rudy," she said. "Thank you for being amazing local heroes."
Schwichtenberg said in a statement that with the pandemic, a drought and flooding, this has been one of the most challenging years for dairy farmers that he can recall.
"And yet, as this event demonstrates, it has also been a year of coming together," he said in a statement last week.
"We will work through this disaster, and do what we can with the circumstances we’ve been handed. Farmers are nothing if not resilient."
At least 500 cattle are dead from the flooding, the BC Dairy Association said earlier this week, but thousands of animals were moved last week to farms not under evacuation order. Schwichtenberg told CTV Morning Live Wednesday he took in a couple dozen cows himself, but they'll be going home in the coming days.
Schwichtenberg said the best thing the public can do to support farmers is to have patience.
"Understand what we're going through," he said on CTV Morning Live. "Continue to buy milk, obviously."
Sixty-two dairy farms in the Fraser Valley were placed under evacuation order, according to the BC Dairy Association. Those orders have slowly been lifting in some areas, however.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.