British Columbia ranchers in need of hay may still get an early Christmas present from Alberta farmers despite disagreements between the organizers and B.C. government officials about load regulations.
Hay West organizer Joe Niessen hopes to have two or three more truckloads of donated hay leave Alberta for hard-hit B.C. ranchers on Dec. 13.
But Niessen isn’t convinced the hay will make it past the weigh scales at Golden, B.C., where in October the first convoy of 12 hay trucks was stopped and made to comply with road safety regulations.
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“I’m not satisfied we won’t be hassled again at the scales. We’ll go with a few trial loads and see what happens. I hate to see the ranchers out of hay,” he said.
Niessen wanted to do for B.C. farmers what Eastern Canadians did for Alberta and Saskatchewan farmers when they sent train loads of hay west last summer.
“If I get any hassle at the Golden scale, we’ll turn right around and come back and that’ll be the end of it,” said Niessen.
Kevin Krueger, B.C. MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson, where ranchers were hit by drought and forest fires, is hopeful the hay will get through.
“We’re really in need here,” said Krueger.
It’s estimated ranchers in the area need about 1,000 tonnes of hay and 1,000 tonnes of straw to carry them through to spring. Forest fires burned up thousands of acres of pasture, leaving ranchers desperate for feed.
Many of B.C.’s transportation permits were waived to allow the hay to come into the province, but officials weren’t willing to budge on the need for corner boards along the top of the loads and longitudinal straps that stop the load from shifting when the truck is travelling on windy mountain roads, said Krueger.
The memory of an Alberta truck, not properly equipped, that smashed into 14 vehicles in Kamloops and killed four people in 1989 is still fresh in people’s memories, he said.
“There are rules that have to be followed.”
The required rules seem to be a red flag for Niessen, who said he has trucked hay for 40 years in Alberta without the need for the extra tie down straps. During the last convoy of hay, wooden corner boards and straps had to be added to the loads at Golden before the trucks could continue.
Niessen said the wooden corner boards were broken by the time the trucks arrived at their destination and the longitudinal straps don’t stop a load of bales from moving.
“Those serve no purpose. I’m tempted to use ribbon or Christmas decorations instead,” said Niessen.
The hay that reached B.C. ranchers has made a difference, said Pat Proulx, a Barriere, B.C. rancher who received 10 tonnes from the first shipment.
She now has enough feed to last until February.
It will be at least June before her cattle can be turned out on the range, six weeks later than normal.
