The Rural Voice, 2019-07, Page 12 I wasn’t going to write about the
weather. I was trying hard to think
about something else. But no matter
how I tried, the weather is the biggest
thing going on for us in agriculture.
Across the continent, the weather is
making headlines and is worrying for
a lot of people, not just farmers.
Through most of the crop-growing
area of Ontario and the corn belt in
the U.S., cold, wet weather and a
lack of sun since last September has
affected our harvest, our winter
crops, and of course, spring work. On
the flip side, hot, dry weather is
affecting our cousins in the western
provinces – burning off forages for
cattle, leaving farmers to plant into
nothing but dust, and enabling raging
forest fires that choke people in cities
and on farms alike. I’ve read first-
hand accounts from western farmers
who are already selling off livestock
because they have no hay and no
pastures to feed them.
For the first time, I was actually
envisioning what our fields would
look like if we didn’t get the crop
planted. While leaving fields fallow
was once fairly common practice,
I’ve never seen it and I’m not sure
how you would manage to keep the
weeds at bay. Aside from the
depression factor of being
surrounded by bare fields, the
financial hit doesn’t really bear
thinking about.
It is no secret that the weather has
impacted all of us in other ways as
well. According to the Insurance
Board of Canada, “The insurance
industry has had a front-row seat to
the effects of climate change. Thirty
years ago, insured losses for extreme
weather events averaged $400
million a year. In the last decade,
these losses have skyrocketed to
$1billion or more every year but
one,” (http://www.ibc.ca/on/disaste
r/water/). Claims due to water
damage are significantly more than
claims resulting from fire and wind
damage combined.
While the overall average annual
rainfall has increased in our area over
the past century, extreme rainfall
events have also increased, causing
damage to homes, farms, and
municipalities. It is important to
make sure that your insurance policy
covers your home and business for
damage caused by floods and septic
backups. Government pressure
following flooding disasters in the
past decade in major cities has
resulted in changes within the
insurance industry. Insurance
companies are all different – but
most will charge different rates based
on your area of exposure. If you have
built on a flood plain it is possible
that you will not be able to get
insurance at all. Higher risk equals
higher premiums.
This year, flood warnings and
watches have been issued due to high
water levels in the Great Lakes in
various areas of the province. Local
Conservation Authorities (CAs) are
responsible for local flood
messaging, while municipalities are
responsible for “on the ground flood
response”. Their website provides a
provincial map showing areas of
flood watches and warnings.
The 2019 provincial budget has
reduced funding to CAs across the
province. According to Conservation
Ontario, prior to this reduction, a
total of $7.4 million in provincial
funding was shared across the 36
CAs towards flood management.
“The impacts of these reductions will
vary from CA to CA, however, they
will all be felt immediately,
particularly in smaller and more rural
conservation authorities.” said Kim
Gavine, General Manager of
Conservation Ontario. On Friday,
April 12, 2019, the Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority (MVCA)
was advised that funding for MVCA
natural hazard management programs
8 The Rural Voice
I wasn’t going to
write about the
weather, but...
Kate farms,
hikes, canoes,
and plays
guitar in
Huron County.
Kate Procter
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