On August 4, Québec growers staged a news conference in Ste-Clotilde-de-Châteauguay to point to the rain-related damages that have accumulated all summer to berry and vegetable crops. The growers, accompanied by leaders of the Union des producteurs agrioles (UPA), are seeking provincial relief.

Berry growers are worrying about risks of climate change for the 2024 and 2025 harvests, says Michel Sauriol, president of the association of strawberry and raspberry producers. Growers can control drought with irrigation, but they can’t mitigate the damage of hundreds of millimeters of water falling within an hour.  

For one, Julien Cousineau received hail one inch in diameter for 15 minutes, shredding 100 acres of broccoli and onions, the night before the news conference. Others in the Montérégie region say that so much rain has been received that the fields are unwalkable and that equipment can’t enter to do crop protection treatments.

“Unfortunately, it’s a perfect recipe for wiping out this year’s work, but for some it’s the work of a lifetime,” said Catherine Lefebvre, president of the Association des producteurs maraîchers.

The farmers are seeking provincial relief, separate and distinct from federal programs. Specifically, they are asking for deferment of payment of premiums to the crop insurance program and a holiday on payments on loans to the Financière Agricole. If they can gain the Québec government’s acknowledgement of the state of weather-related disaster, then there’s a better case to be made to financial institutions for individual relief.

The growers made the point that they can’t go into debt to feed Quebecers. Provincial ag minister André Lamontagne has acknowledged that the unusual weather has affected several regions and a variety of products. The Financière Agricole has set up a monitoring unit.

Source:  Montreal Gazette August 5, 2023