The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Farmers kept it up through pandemic
When the pandemic and the resulting lockdown hit in March, many people hunkered down because of forced closures and layoffs. Some businesses closed, while others went online and adjusted to a pickup and delivery model.
But for farmers, there was no break. Everything happened at the worst possible time. Supplies had been ordered. Fields were being prepared. And their temporary foreign workers were grounded in their home countries, unable to get to Canada at a vital time for the farmers.
But still, “farmers showed up for work and continued to do what they always did, but had to change how we did it,” said Phillip Keddy, the president of Horticulture Nova Scotia.
“In horticulture, we are always planning six months ahead. We're ordering seeds and plants, lining up labour.” said Keddy, who operates Charles Keddy Farms with his mother, father and wife. They operate a mixed farm, including sweet potatoes and strawberry plants.
“In January I already have potato slips ordered, all my fields planned out with what was being planted where, this many workers coming in on the 25th of March. We had everything all planned out for 2020 and then when everything started, when the wheels started falling off the wagon when the labour got pushed back, all the farmers had to say, 'OK, this is what I had planned, but given that I don't have any labour to carry it out, what is achievable?' ”
He said some strawberry farmers abandoned some acreage because they knew they couldn't pick all the berries. Some farms that had started transplants in greenhouses had to throw them out because they didn't have the labour to plant or harvest them.
Keddy said he had to decide daily what was more important to achieve while the arrival of workers was delayed.
“Normally we get so much done in a week. We had to say 'what's most important this week, let's get that done.' ”
His farm was able to hire some local labour but finding people willing to work on the farms has always been hard at the best of times.
“We were running ads steady and hiring everyone who set foot at the door, but we were way under the numbers that we needed,” he said.
“On a week to week basis, there were some jobs that just weren't going to get done and they got pushed to the bottom of the pile,” he said.
But eventually the workers did arrive, and that meant more adaptations for farmers. Additional housing had to be purchased, rented or acquired to ensure the workers could maintain social distancing and social bubbles in accordance with public health guidelines.
DROUGHT COMPLICATIONS
But there were more difficulties to come.
“On top of being behind, this was a drought year. We had weeks of drought in June, which we're not used to, and four weeks of drought in July. For us, we focused heavily on getting all our crops into the ground, but this being a drought year we were too far behind getting our irrigation set up. All the crops were struggling drastically by the time we were putting water on them.”
And, Keddy said, with most farms being family businesses, many people who normally farm together couldn't because kids were home from school and someone needed to be home with them if they were young.
“Most farms lost one of their key employees,” Keddy said, although those with teenagers did end up with some extra help being available while schools were shut down.
When fall arrived though, things were looking better for more farmers.
“We had our labour and a decent crop, and we were able to get the products that we normally grow onto the shelves,” he said.
“Everybody in agriculture, whether it be the seed dealers, the fertilizer dealers, the farmers, or the workers, we all showed up every day so we could do what we love to do and have products at the end of the year for the people who are relying on a safe and stable food system.”