By Paul Maurice, Executive Member, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Over the years, I’ve learned that emergencies rarely happen when it’s convenient. I’m a farmer and board member with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, and I also spent many years as a volunteer rural first responder with my local fire department.
Whether responding to fires, motor vehicle collisions, severe storms or other emergencies, one lesson was always the same: the farms that had taken the time to prepare were almost always in a better position to protect both people and animals.
Wildfires are dominating the headlines this summer, with thousands of people forced to leave their homes on short notice. While most Ontario farmers won’t face a wildfire evacuation, every farm is vulnerable to emergencies. Floods, tornadoes, barn fires, prolonged power outages and extreme heat can all put people, livestock and farm businesses at risk with little warning.
As farmers, we spend a lot of time preparing for uncertainty. We watch the weather, manage financial risk and plan for changing markets. But emergency planning is one task that’s easy to put off because we hope we’ll never need it.
If you raise livestock, having a plan is especially important.
Evacuating cattle, sheep, poultry, horses or pigs is more complex than loading family and pets into the vehicle and heading to safety. It takes transportation, a destination, feed, water and people who know how to handle animals correctly and safely – arrangements that are much easier to make before an emergency than while one is unfolding.
In some situations, evacuation may not even be the best option and sheltering animals in place can be safer. During flooding, livestock need access to higher ground. During extreme heat, they need shade, ventilation and reliable water. During a prolonged power outage, farmers need a way to keep ventilation, water, feeding, milking and refrigeration systems operating.
That’s why every farm – whether you have livestock or not – should have a written emergency plan tailored to its own needs.
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