Alberta farmers who got hay last year from Eastern Canada now are donating feed to help British Columbia ranchers doubly hurt by drought and fire, said a man organizing the donations.
“We were on the receiving end last year. Kamloops has not only had drought but fires,” said Ben Penner, who hopes to ship 1,000 tonnes of hay and 1,000 tonnes of straw to ranchers in southern B.C.
It’s the memory of the generosity of farmers from Eastern and Atlantic Canada that spurred a trio of farmers, Joe Niessen, Warner Reinhardt and Ben Penner, from the Carstairs and Didsbury area, to help fellow farmers in trouble this year.
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“Last winter this area was in bad shape for winter feed. People in Central and Eastern Canada pitched in and sent feed out here,” said Penner.
The hay and straw is aimed at ranchers who were affected by the three largest fires in southern B.C. near Kamloops, Chase and Barriere. While many ranchers in B.C. have little pasture and hay because of drought, the ranchers in these area were hit even harder by fires destroying their rangeland, hay and fences.
Graham Strachan, a resource stewardship agrologist with B.C. agriculture in Kamloops, is helping the trio work through the maze of transport regulations.
The Alberta farmers have rounded up free hay, straw, gas, trucks and accommodation. But despite the generosity, the donations have been stopped dead by British Columbia’s strict road regulations.
Trucks hauling freight into B.C. need bulkheads, a type of frame bolted to the back of the cab to ensure extra safety if loads shift in transit. Only two of the 10 trucks donated for hauling feed into B.C. have the bulkheads. B.C. transportation officials have refused to relax the rules.
“Everyone is being extremely generous and extremely helpful except the place where it’s going to,” said Penner. They had hoped to have the first load of feed delivered this week, but will have to delay the project until a solution can be found.
“It would be a great shame to get as far as Golden and be turned back,” said Penner.
Strachan said he and members of the Kamloops Stockman’s Association, the key organizers on the B.C. side, are still working on a solution.
The B.C. trucking company, Western Star, has offered to have the right sized bulkheads shipped to Alberta and a local fire relief association has offered to absorb the cost.
“I’m hoping it will still work, although it’s on the cusp of blowing up. It’s so frustrating,” said Strachan.
A survey of the B.C. ranchers estimated they needed 1,000 tonnes of hay and a similar amount of straw to extend the feeding season in the fall and spring.
