Fiona recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever for a storm when it made landfall on Saturday as a post-tropical storm with powerful winds, rainfall and high waves, the hurricane centre said.

Farmers to fishermen in Atlantic Canada are seeking government help after the storm devastated vessels, farms and harbour infrastructure, with flooding now threatening to damage the potato crop in Prince Edward Island, which accounts for a fifth of Canada’s output.

“Even as we see the devastation, we also see, in conversations I had with fishers and farmers and folks who are cleaning up their lives and trying to recover, there is a resilience to Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters in Stanley Bridge, P.E.I.

DBRS credit rating agency said the storm could result in record insured losses for the Atlantic provinces, putting the initial estimate between $300 million and $700 million. But the industry should be able to deal with the blow as the Atlantic Canada property insurance market is relatively small, it said.

Insurance Bureau of Canada said it would take several weeks to get a clear idea of insurance claims.

By Tuesday morning more than a quarter of electricity customers in Nova Scotia were still without power.

Defense Minister Anita Anand told reporters the federal government was ready to send more troops to help with cleanup efforts.

The Canadian Independent Fish Harvester’s Federation on Tuesday sought financial help to rebuild infrastructure at Small Craft Harbours facilities and to recover lost and damaged fishing vessels.

While lobster fishing is minimal at this time of year, it will be critical to repair wrecked harbours before spring, when fishing picks up, said Kent Poole, who fishes in P.E.I. Canada is one of the world’s biggest lobster exporters.

‘Storability’

The potato harvest was just underway when Fiona hit and the rain it left behind may rot crops in low-lying areas, said Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board.

Farmers are also struggling to find enough diesel to run machinery, some lost warehouses, and many are still without power needed to operate conveyors and sorting equipment, Donald said.

“The big concern will be rot and storability, but time will tell,” Donald said. “If we continue to get rain, it’ll be a bigger problem.”

Many farmers in affected regions already have tractor PTO-powered generators to keep barns and other systems operating, Tim Marsh, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, told Glacier FarmMedia on Tuesday — “although unfortunately we’ve heard of a few cases where those have failed on startup.”

While those producers have been able to share generators and other resources, Marsh said it wouldn’t be surprising to learn of a “substantial amount” of product lost, due to lack of available storage, cut transportation links and other logistics issues.

Fruit crops such as apples and wine grapes may see some damage due to bruising or leaf loss on grapevines, he said, but the extent of that damage won’t be fully known until harvest is completed.

— Reporting for Reuters by John Morris; additional reporting and writing by Ismail Shakil and Rod Nickel. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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One of the worst storms Canada has ever faced left more than one-third of customers in Nova Scotia without power, swept homes into the sea and left at least one person dead.

Fishing is a key industry in Canada’s Atlantic provinces, which produce some of the world’s largest lobster exports.

Fiona destroyed some harbours on Prince Edward Island and scattered lobster traps for miles, leaving a long clean-up ahead, said Allan MacQuarrie, a director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association.

“I’m scared to know what it’s going to look like, to be honest with you,” said MacQuarrie, who was cleaning up toppled trees at his home and had not yet checked his own crab traps.

“I’ll know tomorrow and you’ll hear me swearing in Saskatchewan.”

Osborne Burke, general manager of the Victoria Co-op Fisheries in Neils Harbour, N.S., told news outlet CBC that the plant suffered “horrendous” damage, and several 40-foot sea containers full of frozen fish were “thrown around like dominoes.”

He said no one was seriously hurt, but repairs will cost more than $1 million.

Canada’s lobster industry was spared worse damage because fishing is minimal at this time of year, said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada industry group. Fishers are planning to seek government approval to extend the season in certain areas to make up for lost time, he said.

National fishing and seafood accounted for $7.6 billion in Canadian gross domestic product in 2018, according to a 2021 government report.

Farm damage

Many P.E.I. dairy farmers lost power, shutting down milking systems that run on electricity, said Donald Killorn, executive director of P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture.

The storm disrupted early harvesting of potatoes and other crops, he said. P.E.I., the smallest province, produced one-fifth of Canada’s potatoes last year, according to Statistics Canada. Much of its crop is exported to the United States.

“We see huge destruction in our barns and our storage facilities,” Killorn said. “Damage to infrastructure is significant, it’s widespread and it’s catastrophic.”

— Reporting for Reuters by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg.

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported Tuesday it had confirmed ‘high-path’ H5N1 avian influenza (AI) on Sunday in birds at an “additional” farm in the region.

It follows a high-path H5N1 outbreak confirmed Dec. 20 in birds at an exhibition farm, which had marked Canada’s first case of a high-path strain of AI in domestic birds since 2015.

As was the case on the first affected property, the “small flock farm” in the second case also does not produce birds for sale, CFIA said Tuesday.

More details about the second outbreak, the farm and types of birds affected weren’t yet available Wednesday.

CFIA said Tuesday that Canada’s status as “free from AI” remains in place, as per guidance from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

The second detection also “should have no impact on trade,” CFIA said Tuesday, adding that the situation “serves as a strong reminder that AI is spreading across the globe in wild birds as they migrate to and from Canada.”

That means “anyone with farm animals, including birds, should practice good biosecurity habits to protect them from animal diseases,” the agency said.

Both farms are in a region the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial government promotes online to tourists as the “Seabird Capital of North America,” with “tens of thousands of migrating seabirds perched almost within arm’s length.”

Analysis of the flu virus in the December case showed it was genetically lined up with the “Eurasian lineage” of high-path H5N1 that’s been circulating in poultry and wild birds in Europe and Asia in recent months.

In a report filed Dec. 31 with the OIE, following up with the case at the first farm, the federal government said a wild bird — a great black-backed gull — was found dead Nov. 26 of avian flu in the St. John’s area, not far from the site of the exhibition farm outbreak.

In a separate Jan. 2 report, Ontario’s Feather Board Command Centre — an industry agency tracking both domestic and international bird disease outbreaks — said it’s believed a North Atlantic storm which hit that area of Newfoundland in early October may have “swept along” migrating waterfowl from northern Europe. –– Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday reported a confirmed outbreak of a highly-pathogenic (‘high-path’) strain of H5N1 avian influenza at an exhibition farm in the province’s southeast. It marks Canada’s first high-path outbreak since 2015.

The exhibition farm houses multiple species of birds and other animals and does not produce birds for sale, CFIA said. Thus, it’s considered “non-poultry” by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Ontario’s Feather Board Command Centre, an industry agency that tracks both domestic and international bird disease outbreaks, said Wednesday the Newfoundland farm’s stock had included chickens, turkeys, emus, geese, ducks, guinea fowl and peafowl.

According to the report filed with the OIE, the flu strain killed 360 birds on the farm and another 59 were destroyed.

The farm is in a region the Newfoundland and Labrador government promotes as the “Seabird Capital of North America,” with “tens of thousands of migrating seabirds perched almost within arm’s length.”

Analysis shows the virus on the farm lines up genetically with the “Eurasian lineage” of high-path H5N1 that’s been circulating in poultry and wild birds in Europe and Asia this year, the OIE said in its report Wednesday.

But since the birds in this case aren’t commercial poultry, the OIE said, its Terrestrial Animal Health Code says OIE member countries “should not impose bans on the international trade of poultry commodities in response to notification of infection with any influenza A viruses in birds other than poultry.”

For that reason — and because no other cases of bird illness resembling avian influenza (AI) have been reported in the vicinity of the farm — Canada’s AI-free status “remains in place in accordance with (OIE) guidance,” CFIA said.

Avian flu, CFIA said, “circulates naturally in avian fauna and recent detections of high-pathogenic AI in Europe indicate an even higher risk of the disease in North American poultry flocks this year.

“This makes it more important than ever for anyone raising poultry to remain vigilant against AI and ensure they have effective biosecurity measures in place.”

Meanwhile, provincial and federal officials and the birds’ owner “are working closely together to manage this particular situation.”

Also, a three-kilometre “protection zone” and 10-km “surveillance zone” are now in place around the infected premises, CFIA said.

According to the agency’s report to the OIE, the farm’s outbreak first became apparent Dec. 8 and was confirmed through tests at Atlantic Veterinary College’s diagnostic services lab on Dec. 16 and Canada’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg Dec. 19 and 20. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The two provinces joined in a so-called “bubble” with the other Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in early July, agreeing to allow residents from within their borders to travel freely without quarantine. Anyone from other parts of Canada and internationally had to quarantine for 14 days.

But as cases rose in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in recent days, Premier Dennis King of P.E.I. and Premier Andrew Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador pulled out, instituting 14-day quarantine requirements for everyone entering their provinces starting on Tuesday for at least two weeks.

“The Atlantic bubble has been a source of pride,” Furey said at a news conference. “But the situation has changed (and) I have made the tough decision to implement a circuit break.”

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were yet to make to any changes to their quarantine rules.

The border restrictions, along with tough public health measures, helped the East Coast provinces, which have a combined population of 2.4 million, tamp down COVID-19 early in the pandemic and keep the virus largely at bay even as the rest of the country entered a second wave of infections. The average number of new infections reported in Canada each day recently reached a new high of more than 4,900 daily.

The bubble helped save the all-important summer tourism for region, worth around $5 billion annually.

“Our healthcare system is strong but it has limitations,” King said. “The potential of a large outbreak as we have seen in other jurisdictions would put pressure on our system and we could easily become overwhelmed.”

As of Nov. 22, Canada had reported 330,503 total COVID-19 cases, adding 4,792 in 24 hours, and 11,455 deaths, a one-day increase of 49, according to government data.

— Reporting for Reuters by Moira Warburton in Toronto.

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The provincial government on Nov. 5 announced its Beef Industry Enhancement Initiative will provide just over $1.8 million in total to its three successful proposals:

• $719,750 for Troy Humber of Northern Arm, about 40 km northeast of Grand Falls-Windsor;
• $558,448 to Nelson Williams of Hopeall, on the east side of Trinity Bay just north of Dildo; and
• $537,000 to Doug and Crystal Parsons of Cormack, about 70 km northeast of Corner Brook.

“By adding additional cooler space to help increase our production capacity, and upgrading from a provincially- to a federally-certified facility, we expect this expansion to open the door to wider markets and future growth in Newfoundland and Labrador’s red meat industry,” Doug Parsons said in the province’s release.

Developing secondary beef processing is a way to help deal with lack of access to proper slaughter and packing facilities in the province, the government said, describing the problem as “an impediment to growth for the province’s beef and sheep sectors.”

The Beef Industry Enhancement Initiative was budgeted in June for up to $2.5 million for abattoir development, plus $1 million to provide 10 beef cows each to 20 beef operations, “to improve the quality and number of animals” produced in the province.

That separate call for proposals has led to 200 breeding cows being distributed to operations across the province, the government said in its release.

Nelson Fagan Jr., one of the successful applicants, used the funding to buy 10 pregnant Charolais cows for his beef operation at Conception Bay South.

“Charolais are known to be strong, rugged and extremely adaptable to a variety of climates and environmental conditions,” he said in the province’s release. “We expect they will be a perfect match for Newfoundland and Labrador’s terrain and cooler weather.”

The base stock of breeding animals bought through the program is expected to result in about “1,300 animals of the same lineage” in the province within five years.

Provincial Agriculture Minister Elvis Loveless said the beef initiative is “opening up this industry by providing beef producers access to a variety of cattle strains, and offering research opportunities to collect information on cattle breeds that best suit Newfoundland and Labrador’s climate and environment.”

The province today produces less than one per cent of the beef its residents consume, he said, leading to imports of about 14 million kg per year. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Dr. Andrew Furey, who was sworn in Wednesday to replace Dwight Ball as premier, announced a new cabinet the same day for the province’s Liberal minority government.

Elvis Loveless, the rookie MHA for the southern Newfoundland riding of Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune, was named Wednesday as the new minister for fisheries, forestry and agriculture.

Furey’s announcement included the “realignment of a number of government departments,” with further details expected in “coming days.”

Agriculture until now has been an arm of the provincial fisheries and land resources department, and had previously been under the natural resources department’s oversight until 2015.

Loveless, originally from Seal Cove, had been active in provincial politics for years before recapturing Fortune Bay for the Liberals in last May’s election. He was named by Ball in June last year as parliamentary secretary to the minister of fisheries and land resources.

Gerry Byrne, the incumbent minister for fisheries and land resources since 2017, was named Wednesday as Furey’s minister for immigration, skills and labour and minister responsible for Workplace NL.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture on Wednesday tweeted congratulations for Loveless on the new post and said it “look(s) forward to working with you in the future,” while also thanking Byrne “for his support for the agriculture industry in N.L.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Farmers dealing with “problem moose” can now apply for permits for night shooting, via provincial agriculture development officers in their areas, the provincial fisheries and land resources department said Thursday.

The permits come with certain conditions, including:

• putting priority on “non-lethal crop protection methods,” such as fencing, bangers, motion-detected lighting and/or live trapping, whenever and wherever possible;
• drafting farm-specific “agricultural depredation plans,” which would map out when and where “lethal removal” can take place;
• eligibility requirements for designated shooters on farms, such as completing a hunter safety program and being eligible to hold a big game licence; and
• limits on the types of firearms that can be used — for example, prohibiting use of high-powered and long-range firearms in populated areas.

The new policy follows a round of public meetings and online consultations in February and March.

In those consultations, farmers said current crop insurance programs don’t adequately cover moose damage; fencing of large fields isn’t feasible; and conservation officers can’t respond to farm calls quickly enough to deal with problem moose when they appear.

But the public consultations also showed concerns with allowing night shooting, such as risks to public safety, the possibility for increased poaching, and the odds that animals wounded at night would be difficult to retrieve.

“The amendments made today will ensure that farmers will have a means to protect their crops against moose damage when all other non-lethal crop protection methods have failed,” Melvin Rideout of the Newfoundland and Labrador Horticultural Producers Council said Thursday in the province’s release.

Moose damage on vegetable farms in the province generally begins in August, when the leaves on birch trees begin to turn, farmers said during the consultations. However, they added, moose damage on fruit crops “continues throughout the year.”

While moose are native to Labrador, the species didn’t appear in Newfoundland until it was introduced there for game in the 1870s. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Gerry Byrne, the Liberal MHA for Corner Brook since 2015 and the province’s minister of fisheries and land resources since 2017, held his riding on Thursday against Progressive Conservative challenger Tom Stewart by a spread of 754 votes.

Byrne, a former economic development officer, was a federal Liberal MP for 19 years before entering provincial politics. In Premier Dwight Ball’s cabinet Byrne had previously served as minister for advanced education and skills.

Jim Lester, who became the Tory MHA for Mount Pearl North in a byelection in 2017, kept his seat from Liberal challenger Nicole Kieley by a margin of 711 votes.

Lester, a Mount Pearl area farmer, was the Tories’ critic for lands and wildlife heading into the election, handling the agrifoods, forestry and Crown lands files, and critic for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.

Premier Dwight Ball’s Liberals lost 10 seats in Thursday’s election, ending the evening with 20, just one short of majority government status.

Ches Crosbie’s Tories held official opposition status with 15 seats, gaining seven, followed by Alison Coffin’s New Democrats with three seats, gaining one. Two independents, both former Liberals, hold the remaining seats in the House of Assembly.

Local media quoted Crosbie on Thursday night as saying he wouldn’t concede to the Liberals and calling for a coalition with the five other opposition MHAs.

A part of what’s now the fisheries and land resources department since 2017, the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency was set up in 2007 under the former natural resources department, then spun off to fisheries department oversight in 2015.

The Corner Brook-based agency’s Agrifoods Development Branch is responsible for promoting development, expansion and diversification of the primary and value-added agriculture and agrifoods sectors in the province, which today gross annual sales of about $500 million. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The province on Tuesday put out a call for proposals from farmers to take on a five-year contract handling a herd of five breeding cows for “research and development purposes.”

The request seeks proposals from “existing commercial farmers or new farmers who have had past experience in raising beef cattle (and) who would like to help advance the genetic diversity of the beef industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The deadline for proposals is 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 23.

Rising beef prices have boosted interest in the beef cattle industry in the province, the government said in a release.

The province said it hopes to “expand the level of breeding available so that there is less need for producers to acquire superior-quality, purebred beef cattle from outside the province.”

Bringing in purebreds “will eventually allow producers to look within the local industry to acquire breeding stock and to produce quality beef without the additional high costs of transportation from outside the province.”

The province’s fisheries and land resources department, which oversees support for the ag sector, last year partnered with a Daniel’s Harbour dairy farm to raise five beef cattle.

“Initial assessments of the growth and health of this herd at Spruce Grove Dairy Farm have been positive to date,” the province said Tuesday.

Spruce Grove Dairy Farm’s Shawn Perry said Tuesday the project has “resulted in significant growth and development in our operation” and that “as opportunities to improve the genetics of provincial beef herds arise, this will be a game changer for the beef industry.”

Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture president Mervin Wiseman said the move “represents a significant building block in the establishment of a viable beef industry for the province.” — AGCanada.com Network

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