Drought

Please see below for a list of key information that may be helpful to those impacted by drought in the agriculture community:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has a dedicated web page with resources on Drought in Agriculture. On this page you will find resources for:

Quick guide to drought resources

Insurance and income protection

BC Agricultural Water Calculator

Emergency preparedness

Agricultural Business Risk Support Programs

AgriStability:

  • Impacted farmers that are enrolled in AgriStability, should contact their Regional office or phone 1-877-343-2767 to open a claim.
  • Advance (interim) payments are often possible within a few weeks of application.
  • AgriStability is a continuous program that provides assistance against severe drops in income margin of greater than 30%, based on individual farm’s income and expenses in previous years, and considers losses to stored crop, nursery plants and livestock in assessments.

For more details about B.C.’s suite of business risk-management programs for farmers, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/programs/agriculture-insurance-and-income-protection-programs

General Information

  • Stress Mitigation for Farmers and Ranchers: Drought and other emergency situations can be very stressful. The well-being of producers and processors, workers, and their families is extremely important.
  • AgSafe’s wellness practitioners come from farming and provide counselling services at NO COST to members of B.C. Agriculture. Services are available for anyone living or working in agriculture: https://agsafebc.ca/mental-wellness/
  • Do More Agriculture Foundation’s peer-to-peer support AgTalk, powered by Togetherall is platform available 24/7 to those 16+ who live, work and play in the Canadian agricultural industry.ag/agtalk
  • C. Mental Health Hotlines
  • Support (BC): 310-6789
  • Regional health authorities – Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca)
  • Crisis Line: 1-800-SUICIDE
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  • BC.ca 
  • Agroclimate Impact Reporter (AIR): We encourage producers across B.C. to complete the AIR survey prepared by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The AIR survey is open during the last week of the month over the growing season (April to October) and is intended to collect weather and climate impacts on farm operations across Canada. Survey results are made into maps and published on the Drought Watch website. Informing this survey helps with decision-making on programs available to producers.

Drought Related Contact Information

  • AgriService BC: provides direct contact with Ministry of Agriculture and Food staff who are available to provide specialized assistance and help B.C. producers access the right programs they need. Farmers, ranchers and producers who need support are encouraged to contact their industry association or to call the AgriService BC line at 1 888 221-7141. Ministry of Agriculture and Food staff can help the agricultural community access existing programs.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriservice-bc

Additional Drought Extension Material

To learn more about the action B.C. is taking to reduce the impacts of severe drought conditions, visit the Province’s Drought Response

Information available through the Ministry of Forests includes:

  • Provincial Drought Levels at the BC Drought Information Portal which is updated every other Thursday/Friday or more frequently as needed. For current information on water conservation levels for your watershed or region, please click on the relevant tab on the top of the page.
  • Contact FrontCounterBC for information on drought levels, water licensing and other authorizations.
  • Subscribe for news releases about drought from the Ministry of Forests by selecting “Forests”. Alternately, news releases are available at BC Gov News to advise water users (including agricultural producers) about water conservation, water scarcity and drought.