AgriRecovery underway for flood-battered B.C. farms

The federal and British Columbia governments’ response to last fall’s destructive flooding now includes what’s said to be the biggest farm disaster recovery package in the province’s history.

Provincial Agriculture Minister Lana Popham and her federal counterpart Marie-Claude Bibeau on Monday announced cost-shared funding of $228 million for the Canada-B.C. Flood Recovery for Food Security Program, which is now taking applications.

That includes funding via AgriRecovery, the disaster relief segment of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership funding framework. AgriRecovery is a 60-40 federal-provincial program provided where needed to help farmers cover “extraordinary costs” borne in a natural disaster. A similar AgriRecovery program was rolled out in September in response to drought and wildfire damage in the province.

Heavy rains and flooding in mid-November in the province’s south swamped farms and created mudslides that killed four people, caused billions of dollars in damages and temporarily cut off road and rail access to Vancouver from points east.

The federal government has already separately budgeted about $5 billion through its Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) to help cover non-farm-related losses from the flood damages in the region. Funding was previously made available to livestock producers to help cover immediate feed costs.

Flood damages in the farm sector alone are believed to include more than 1,100 farms, over 35,000 acres and 2.5 million head of livestock, in areas ranging from the Sumas Prairie at Abbotsford east and northeast to Merritt and Princeton. Farm-related losses alone are estimated at about $285 million.

In the case of the flood recovery program announced Monday, funding is to go to cover farmers’ “extraordinary expenses from uninsurable damages” not already covered by other programs. Costs covered under the new program would include:

• cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, water and waste systems, and returning flood-impacted land and buildings to “a safe environment for agricultural production;”
• repair of uninsurable “essential” farm infrastructure and equipment plus “reasonable” repair of on-farm structures such as livestock fences and drainage ditches, as well as rental of temporary production facilities or pastures where needed;
• replacement feed and other animal welfare costs including livestock transportation and veterinary care for injured animals; deadstock disposal for animals killed in the flooding; support for destroyed beehives and colonies; and
• loss of perennial plants not raised for resale, such as blueberry plants.

Popham said funding may also be available to help remediate farmland contaminated by floodwaters.

The province said it will deliver the Flood Recovery for Food Security Program with a combination of AgriRecovery and DFAA funding. AgriRecovery will focus on larger farms, with annual sales over $2 million, providing up to 70 per cent compensation for eligible costs.

Farms with less than $2 million in annual revenue, meanwhile, would be eligible for up to 90 per cent compensation, for which the province would seek reimbursement through the DFAA.

Farmers who plan to apply for funding under the program but have already started work and incurred eligible expenses are advised to keep receipts, track hours of work involved and take pictures documenting damage and repairs.

Popham, speaking along with Bibeau at a press briefing Monday, said farmers who had already applied separately for disaster financial assistance before now can expect to be contacted by the ag ministry; others may now start applying through the new program.

Popham described November’s flooding as “the most impactful agricultural disaster ever in our province, resulting in profound losses” for producers.

“We’ve worked closely with farmers and farming organizations to make sure we have a comprehensive response that will support their recovery, help them get their farms back in production, and continue our collective efforts to build a resilient food system and food economy in B.C.”

Affected farmers enrolled in the federal/provincial AgriInsurance (crop insurance) program are also advised to contact the provincial ag ministry to open claims if they’ve not already done so.

Farmers also still have time to apply for the AgriStability income stabilization program for the 2021 program year, and can seek interim payments under that program, the province said Monday. That program may also help farmers cover losses in stored crops, nursery plants and livestock. –– Glacier FarmMedia Network