Although Dorian was no longer a powerful hurricane by the time the storm hit Nova Scotia, it was enough to force the provinces’ farmers into a corner – many of whom were still recovering from an earlier freak weather episode.
The late summer storm ravaged the island of Cape Breton, knocking out power and causing widespread damage to crops. Corn stalks, in particular, were among the hardest hit.
Chris van den Heuvel, the former president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, mentioned that damage to corn stalks in Cape Breton was “almost a 100% loss,” particularly since the crop had not been allowed to mature properly.
“Either the corn is flattened or even if it’s still standing we typically rely on a good fall, like September and early October, to allow the corn to mature and the leaves have just been shredded off,” van den Heuvel told The Journal Pioneer.
The remaining corn has only just started to mature, and a nutritionist has already advised that there is little the farmers can do to save the remaining crop, van den Heuvel added.
The former president, who owns a dairy farm in the region, also mentioned that about 10 to 15 acres of sweet corn had been destroyed by Dorian. These figures, however, came mostly from large-scale growers, so damage estimates could be higher once market gardeners submit their loss numbers.
The Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture is expected to release an online storm impact survey to better measure the effect of the storm on its members.
Dorian’s arrival comes after the unusual frost that hit NS in June 2018 – an event still fresh in the memories of some producers in the region.
Current Federation president Victor Oulton said that the “back-to-back” hit has made it difficult for some farmers to pay annual insurance premiums, particularly Annapolis Valley apple growers and high bush blueberry growers.
“Everything from a 20% loss in those crops up to an 80% loss in those crops,” Oulton explained. “Plus, there have been some orchards that have been knocked down too.”
The province’s agriculture ministry has been visiting storm-affected sites, but Minister Keith Colwell has yet to confirm whether the government will make disaster funding available.
