The bad weather in recent months have brought a hard blow to farmers, to the point where requests for state assistance have broken, in certain regions, records established during the “catastrophic” summer of 2023.
“It’s been two years in a row that we have a lot of misery with the rain, when normally, it happened once at the 10 or 15 year old […] There was so much water in my field this week that I could have been canoeing there ”, image Jean-François Dion, a cattle producer in Inverness, in Center-du-Québec, who has already lost 60 acres of the hay necessary in order to feed his cattle.
Rain, hail, watercourse overflows … summer is barely started when the situation is already difficult for several cultures in Center-du-Québec, Estrie and even in Saint-Hyacinthe in Montérégie.
The water completely invaded this field a few days ago, we still see that the earth is completely full. The hay is not of good quality in this place, it is wet and full of dust.
Photo provided by Jean-François Dion
“It is mainly because of the rain that we have around 50% more requests than for a normal year for Center-du-Québec,” notes Patrice Blais, regional director at the Sherbrooke services center for the Quebec agricultural financial.
Recall that La Financière Agricole, a state -owned company, makes companies and services available to income, insurance and financing products.
In many cases, farmers are insured, so that they can make a complaint. They will then benefit from financial aid, but it will not bring their sowing to life, however.
Currently, 128 damage opinions have been reported for the city of Nicolet, compared to 92 reviews for the same date last year. For Victoriaville, we went from 38 to 87 damage notices for the same period in July 2024.
“It is a very high departure at the start of the season. We expect to see the figure double by the end of the month, several cultivators already anticipate drops in return, “added Mr. Blais.
Several fields of Claude Lefebvre were affected by the rain in early July. The water level was even higher a few days ago. Many cultures of Baie-du-Febvre are seriously affected by the heavy rains.
Photo provided by Claude Lefebvre
It is not the first summer that gives farmers with a hard time. In 2023, a so -called “catastrophic” year, Quebec cultures were exposed to violent thunderstorms, record quantities of rain and fungal diseases. However, in Saint-Hyacinthe, we are already talking about an increase in 106 advice of damage, compared to 2 years ago.
Pis in Pis
For Claude Lefebvre, farmer and mayor of Baie-du-Febvre, if nothing changes, the situation will only get worse for local cultures.
“We can see it more and more, each year there is heavy rains, in our sector there are already 50-60% of loss. We are in one of the most problematic areas in Quebec, ”deplores the 64 -year -old man, who avoided planting in several fields.
Claude Lefebvre, mayor of Baie-du-Febvre and a native farmer in this sector. He suffered a blow because of the water that invaded some of his fields.
Photo provided by Claude Lefebvre
Both in Baie-du-Febvre and Nicolet, the issues surrounding water management have an impact on cultures.
“At Lake Saint-Pierre, the fields have been completely flooded since Monday, in Nicolet. The weather is one thing, but cleaning of rivers that are not done [et qui assureraient une meilleure circulation des eaux]this is something that can be improved, ”says Julie Bissonnette, president of the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) for Center-du-Québec.
However, it is still too early to establish what impact these bad weather will have for the consumer.
“When it rains as it rained this week, it damages the quality of harvests and it can push prices upwards. It depends on harvests, it depends on the regions. I am not sure that the consumer will be affected, but it can discourage farmers, ”concludes Sylvain Charlebois, economist and professor at Dalhousie University.
