Dwight Foster surveys the damage on his south-Ottawa farm, “we went from an all-time dry season last year to the exact opposite.”
His family has been farming the North Gower land for six generations, this years profits though are mostly under water.
“I think we’ve lost 400 to 500-acres of crop completely. That’s a lot of acres. That’s a lot of money.”
Foster says the lost corn and soya beans add up to a “significant” amount of his projected yield, “it’s going to be tough this year to turn things around.”
Foster says Parks Canada and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority should have been doing more this spring and summer to help absorb the years heavy rains from communities along the Rideau River, “they’ve just been holding water back and not letting it through, well they might as well hold it back because I’ll tell you they’ve ruined 500-acres of crop on my farm.”
In the village of North Gower, residents say they haven’t seen water this high since 1973, and never in the summer months. About a dozen homes were affected by flooding.
Joe McLaughlin’s home on Perkins Drive had about four-feet of water in the basement.
“It’s a big mess,” says McLaughlin, “the furnace was submerged under water, now it’s up to insurance to decide if it is any good.”
Foster feels politicians have left struggling farmers like him high and dry. He says applications to improve farm field drain systems, can take years to get through the approvals process. Time farmers don’t have. He says government red-tape is affecting his livelihood.
“Thanks to people like Rideau Valley Conservation, Parks Canada and the City of Ottawa, just dragging their feet, every time we want to get something done to improve the drainage,” says Foster.
Area Councillor Scott Moffatt understands the frustrations but says the applications process can be a lengthy one, but says farmers are a priority, “What we’ve been working on is updating the Cranberry Municipal Drain, but that takes time. We’re just not there yet unfortunately because we have to deal with multiple different agencies in terms of approval process.”
