Sunday, November 21, 2021

A Dairy Herd Tragedy is Unfolding in Abbotsford

If you've been watching the news recently you'll know that a huge flooding crisis is happening in the lower Fraser Valley of B.C. right now.  The rural part of Abbotsford is largely located on the drained farmland that was formerly Sumas Lake.  Today it's known as Sumas Prairie, and it's one of the best farming area in Canada.  It includes the heart of B.C.'s dairy industry.

Here the closed trans-Canada disappears into the floodwaters while the flooded Sumas Prairie extends in the background.  This is personal for us, because our daughter and our two grand-children live in Abbotsford.  We've been there, we've driven across the farmland and we've hiked with the family along the trails on top of the dykes.

The prairie was drained in the 1920s, a huge pumping system installed and miles and miles of dikes like this one built.  We've walked along the top of that dike.  

Further north lives have been lost in mudslides, but here it's the farmers who are suffering the loss of life, that of their cattle.  I don't know if you've ever spent time on a dairy farm, but dairy farmers generally know their cows by name,  Cows have personalities, some are slow, some silly and some just co-operative.  Dairy farmers strive to keep their cows comfortable because guess what - comfortable cows produce more milk!  

So dairy cows become like members of the family.  No wonder farmers are going to extra-ordinary efforts to save their cows, though tragically hundreds are drowning.  Dairy cows are bred every year too, because cows need a calf to produce milk.  So over the years the quality of a herd steadily increases based on how well the farmers manage things.  It represents an investment of decades in many cases.

Here's one of the dike-top trails we've walked along, the canal out-of-sight on the right, the farmland and buildings on the left.

And another dike, the farmland and buildings beyond.  It's a pattern that's been in place for 100 years or so and is so familiar most people probably don't even recognize it.

On another nature trail we walked first down the lower level of the canal, surrounded by the trees of the floodplain, but you could see the dike and beyond it farm buildings on the far side.

Along the way we saw several Bald Eagles.

We crossed a bridge and walked back on top of the dike, farms on the left and the sleepy canal on the right.  Here we are nearing the end of our walk, still on top of that dike.

Yes, that's mois and my grand-daughter on my shoulders (wearing my hat).  Yes, this is personal.  Spare a thought for the dairy farmers of Abbotsford.

Flood pictures from public news sources.













20 comments:

  1. It's horrifying what has happened in B.C. and especially in those areas that were hardest hit by the flooding. Highways and bi-ways can be repaired but the cost of human lives and those of the livestock is immeasurable. I know there are several agencies accepting cash donations including the Red Cross. Hopefully those funds and disaster relief will be available to these families to start rebuilding their lives.

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  2. It's a tragedy for all concerned; unfortunately that's inevitable for drained land. In the lower Mississippi valley there have been repeated floods on drained land. Near here hundreds and hundreds of a former wetland that was drained to grow celery has now reverted to a wetland after the land sank and the drainage structures failed.

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  3. Oh it is so sad to see and hear of this disaster. Water can do so much damage.
    Know what you mean about the cows - I've come to know many cows and the bulls living here.

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  4. We can’t even begin to imagine what they must be going through in B.C. Hoping your daughter and her family are safe.

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  5. I thought it was getting better, but I can see from the photos here that they have a very long way to go in order to get back to some semblance of normalcy. I do hope they are able to save more of the dairy cattle. My heart breaks for all the suffering.

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  6. A tragedy of immense proportions. Between the wildfires, the crippling heat and now the floods I fear that parts of BC are going to be uninhabitable. Climate scientists predict that it is not going to get better and may well get a whole lot worse.

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  7. The B.C. flooding is a monstrous catastrophe. My grand daughter works in Abbotsford.

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  8. Oh my goodness, the things that we never think about. How terribly awful.

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  9. Oh Stew, I hope your family is safe. I have family there too but she is out of harms way in LTC.

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  10. Last summer with the fires and now the flooding, devastation indeed.

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  11. That really illustrates the problem. I hope your family is okay.

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  12. Your granddaughter is learning so much from you! It sure is a hard time for that area. I hope and pray things improve.

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  13. Having lived in BCs Okanagan Valley for a few years in the early 70's I remember traveling through that area on the way to Vancouver Island and back a couple times. It is so sad to see on television the damage and destruction and even sadder to see the human and animal suffering the flood has caused. Almost unimaginable. We have RV friends out there near Agassiz but so far they are alright. Truly a tragedy.

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  14. Did you see this from Northwestern last week? Maybe some hope for paralysis.

    Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries
    After single injection, paralyzed animals regained ability to walk within four weeks

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  15. I heard a report on the radio about how floods not only endanger cows directly, the water ruins the feed and cuts off transportation routes. Prayers for humanity and animals.

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  16. Such a tragedy and your personal insight and photos have really brought this home. It never occurred to me that this land was reformed by the farmers.

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  17. i knew nothing of this as i only watch local news and this is not reported on there. the pictures of the flooded areas are quite alarming!! i have visited farms many times and know of the relationship cows have with their owners...their personalities!!

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  18. Beautiful picture of before from your visit a few years back. Reminds me of the dikes giving way in New Orleans during Katrina and the city flooding. My heart goes out to the farmers and ranchers and all of the lost stock. - Margy

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