According to the farmer and owner of the Killarney Auction MartAllan Munroe, farmers had to deal with conditions of extreme temperatures, cold and winds.
It’s the coldest winter we’ve had in years
he says.
He explains that winter and spring conditions can be dangerous for calves.
They can get sick or die, despite farmers’ constant efforts to keep them safe
he continues.
Allan Munroe says farmers are physically and mentally exhausted as they work almost around the clock to protect their animals.
” Cow farmers aren’t used to complaining, they’re strong and resilient men and women, but they’re in trouble right now. »
For Deloraine township farmer in southwestern Manitoba, Dallas McGee, it’s also the longest winter he’s ever known.
Like many other farmers, he is happy to see the humidity returning after last summer’s drought, but the extreme weather conditions have changed everything too quickly and in too little time, he says.
We usually start the calving season at the beginning of April to get ahead of the temperature, but this time it’s the temperature that beat us
he laments.
Dallas McGee’s cattle are the bread and butter for him and his family. This is our priority, we work every day with these cows and their newborns.
It’s rather discouraging, he said with a trembling voice, and that’s not to mention the financial consequences it has for us.
Deloraine-Winchester Rural Municipality Warden Gord Weidenhamer, who is also a cattle producer, wants the province to be aware of the difficulties these farmers are going through.
Everyone in the municipality ends up suffering when there are difficulties, especially with the rise in prices that we see across the country.
he mentions.
He himself says he has lost four calves out of the 40 that were born in the last two weeks.
For his part, cattle producer Lanny Gardiner located in Clearwater, in the south-central part of the province, near the United States border, says he also lost nearly 10 calves during the same period due to weather conditions. . Unheard of, according to him.
In a normal year, calves may be lost due to other difficulties, but never due to weather-related reasons.
It’s frustrating, and it never stops. Not what we expected at this time of year.
According to data from the Manitoba Beef Producers Association, which represents beef producers in the province, Manitoba has approximately 400,000 head of cattle and thousands have been declared dead since the start of the year.
The death rate and mortality have increased due to the storm and the weather, it’s worse than the blizzard we had in 2011
mentions the director general of the Association Carson Callum.
Manitoba cattle producers want greater public awareness of their realities.
The farm owner Killarney Auction Mart, Allen Munroe, encourages farmers to contact Manitoba Beef Producers for information on weather-related calf deaths and illnesses. The objective is to have information on hand to present to the government in order to obtain assistance.
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca