Water curtailments squeeze forage production

KAMLOOPS – Deepening drought conditions prompted the province to ban irrigation of forage crops in four watersheds in mid-August, drawing fire from producers who say the restrictions are making a bad situation worse.

The first of the orders on August 15 banned the use of water for forage crop irrigation in the Bessette and Lower Salmon River watersheds through the end of September in order to protect fish populations. The following days saw similar orders issued under Section 88 of the Water Sustainability Act for the Tsolum and Koksilah watersheds.

“Irrigation of forage crops is one of the most water-intensive agricultural water uses,” the BC Ministry of Forests said in announcing the orders, directing affected farmers to the federal-provincial AgriStability program for support.

A total of 551 licensees or transitioning groundwater users were affected, many of whom did not anticipate the shutdowns.

“They were expecting that there would be further restrictions but they weren’t expecting it quite as soon,” says BC Cattlemen’s Association general manager Kevin Boon. “None of them knew that a shutdown was coming. … They expected at least a week’s notice.”

The province issued several notices to water licence holders, beginning with letters encouraging voluntary conservation followed by requests for 25% and 50% reductions. When streamflows fell to levels that put aquatic life at risk, the province cut off forage producers.

However, many producers say they didn’t receive any notice until shut-off notices were hand-delivered.

“Some of the producers hadn’t received any letters, even of the voluntary shutdowns, so for them it came as quite a surprise,” Boon says. “One of the things that would be beneficial in future going forward with these is that there be some given timeline.”

This wasn’t the first time some of the watersheds had been hit with curtailment orders.

Two years ago, orders were issued for four basins, including the Koksilah, Bessette Creek, Lower Salmon River and West Kettle.

In 2019, the Koksilah had the distinction of being the first basin ever placed under a curtailment order, which prompted 19 local producers to develop an irrigation schedule that would mitigate the risk of a shutdown.

But this year is different, with record dry conditions preventing low feed stocks from being replenished.

Producers typically keep a year’s worth of feed on hand, but as the livestock sector pulled together to support each other during the 2021 heat dome, wildfires and flooding, reserves dropped. Drought conditions that began last summer have also depleted reserves.

On July 25, the province announced Access to Feed, a $150,000 program delivered in partnership with the BC Cattlemen’s Association designed to match sellers of hay and feed both domestically and internationally with producers who need it. Cattlemen’s is engaging with the BC Grain Producers, BC Dairy Association, BC Forage Council and the BC Horse Council as part of the initiative.

Boon says the volume of hay needed is undetermined, but that the quest for feed is bearing fruit.

“The big part of this is giving some insight and some answers to the ranchers so that they’re equipped to make the decisions that are necessary for them to carry on their operations and produce the beef and food that’s required,” he said at the July 25 announcement. “We have individuals out searching for hay in other jurisdictions and we are finding it, and we are finding it at what I believe are reasonable prices to get here.”

Wildfire defences affected

Some areas affected by the curtailment orders are also battling wildfires, such as the Lower Salmon, which affects producers east of Westwold. Green fields are a natural fire break, meaning a ban on irrigation could be counterproductive.

“[It] isn’t sitting well,” Boon says. “When we have fires going, the irrigation is the one thing that keeps it green and helps keep fires out of the valleys by supporting green space. They’d like to keep irrigating in there in a limited capacity.”

Producers have written forests minister Bruce Ralston pleading their case but had not heard back as of August 28. Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone of BC United has also taken up the cause.

Many producers fear what forage producers are experiencing is a sign of things to come.

While livestock groups in the Lower Mainland, which has been elevated to the highest drought level, report minimal effect on operations thanks to provisions allowing livestock watering and no local government restrictions on agricultural water use, BC Dairy Association vice-chair Sarah Sache says restrictions can’t be ruled out in the future.

“It is a major concern of farms throughout the province, but specifically in the Lower Mainland, cutting off our water is not something we expect to come our way,” she says. “[But] unprecedented is on the table now. I think as we go forward we’re likely to see all kinds of things we haven’t seen before with climate change.”

Sache farms in Rosedale, and says producers are challenged to find a way to continue grow the amount of feed locally needed to feed their animals. High land costs makes this a challenge at the best of times, but restrictions on irrigation would complicate things event further.

“We’ll continue to try to be resilient through those times,” she says. “We need to adjust to the new normal.”

The Lower Mainland is among the areas where producers are eligible to participate in the Livestock Tax Deferral Program, which allows income on livestock sold in response to drought conditions to be deferred until the following tax year, when it can be offset by livestock purchases.

This year has seen a record number of cattle move to market early in the season as producers opt to sell for record high pricing rather than pay sharply higher prices for feed. Dairy producers have also been right-sizing their herds in the face of tighter margins.

But for ranchers, the challenges are particularly acute. Typically, shipping hay into the Vanderhoof area, usually a net supplier of hay to the province but one of the hardest hit by this year’s shortage, costs $150-$180 a ton; this year, it’s closer to $450 a ton.

“The transportation to get it in there will be the deciding factor,” Boon says. “It’s going to be a tough pill for them to swallow, no matter what the price of calves are, to have a feed bill that high.”

The disbursement of $5 million in advance payments to 100 producers as well as support for the Access to  Feed program will give some producers the confidence to hold onto animals, as will scattered rain in late August, which could see restrictions in some areas lifted.

Nevertheless, the BC beef herd is on track to start next year much lower than in recent years.

BC cow-calf operations reported 353,300 head on January 1 this year, according to Statistics Canada, down from 358,600 five years earlier.

With files from Tom Walker