Canadians and Americans are advised to be able to survive without municipal services for up to 72 hours in an emergency. For rural and farming residents that could be much longer as urban services are typically restored much more quickly.
Is your farm prepared for 72 hours without power, gas, phone, emergency services or even cellphone and internet?
Preparing a house in town for a 72 hour break is an enormous task, preparing a farm can seem monumental. And yet it is essential for us to plan for. You may think you are prepared, and you could be, but when was the last time you practiced? When was the last time you checked?
The Canadian government has a website: getprepared.gc.ca with general tips and information. They even have resources for animal care and farming. The Canadian Red Cross and a number of other agencies have readily available resources, the majority of which are free.
The problem with resources is they are of no use if you are not taking advantage of them. If you are like a farmer I know who’s argument about preparedness is, “I’m too busy farming!” then you are putting yourself, your family and farm at huge risk.
One Farm’s Story
We have beef cattle, horses and companion animals. We have a small child. We live in a rural area which can have, at times, limited road access. We are also in an area of lower population which means we are not first on the list for services when they are being restored. We choose to live here. That means we take responsibility for planning for those times when we won’t have municipal services.
Our check list includes:
- Food, water, medications and animal care supplies in our storm room
- Generators and fuel
- Pump and hose
- Well maintained equipment
- Fire extinguishers
- Supplementary water supplies for livestock
- Shelter and feed for animals
- Supplementary heating
- Alternative cooking tools (solid fuel stove, propane and wood pellet bbq)
- Food that does not require freezing or refrigeration
- Extra medications and well maintained first aid kits
- Animal health kits
- Leashes and crates
- Halters and ropes
- Weather radio
- Emergency power source for phones and other electronics
The most important thing we have, however, is a plan we practice for each of the seasons in which there are dangers. We know what to do in a severe summer storm, we know what to do in a deep freeze with no power, we know where to put our livestock in a drifting blizzard. We time each other, we practice and we communicate. We also understand that sometimes one or the other will be alone taking care of things when the unexpected happens.
Family Safety
The safety of your family comes first. Making sure you have safe places in case of a storm, that you are able to start the generator and know first aid is key. Watching the weather, we subscribe to weather alerts on our smart phones. We watch both US and Canadian radar maps for storms. A storm coming from the south can give you a day’s warning if you look at the US radar, but only hours if you rely solely on the Canadian weather radar. That can be the difference between being ready and being caught off guard.
Even children can learn first aid and CPR. Find a local trainer who is certified with St. John’s or the Red Cross and get your whole family trained. Make sure you have everyone’s medication, including allergy and what may be needed for a chronic medical condition, on hand. Have a better than needed first aid kit. You won’t know when you may need those extras found in the better kits. Have one for your animals as well.
Make sure your pets are able to be crated, and handled if you need to evacuate with them. Have your vehicles fueled up at all times and in working order. Even a quad or tractor can be a life saver, but if they don’t run they are of no use.
Have a family plan. Follow it. Practice it. Get to know your local emergency services personnel. They could be volunteer fire fighters that are neighbors. It could be a nurse or EMT. Be sure they know where to find you and any hazards your farm yard may have for them.
Livestock Care & Animal Welfare
Canada has laws and regulations regarding the care and welfare of all animals. Those laws are both federal and provincial. In essence they state that you cannot knowingly leave an animal to suffer and die. That includes evacuating or abandoning your property and leaving animals behind without food, water and shelter in safety. That being said, most of you wouldn’t knowingly cause harm to your animals.
Have you planned for their care in a 72 hour or longer situation? How are you going to provide water, feed, shelter? Ventilation in confinement housing is a very big concern. Most producers with intensive or high population operations have redundant systems with multiple back-ups. But how long can you rely on your back-up system? Was it designed for 6, 12, 24 or many more hours? When was the last time you tested it?
Animal caregivers need to be aware of different conditions that can adversely impact the animals in their care. Freezing rain is an example. Freezing rain on range animals can be deadly, do you have a way of providing shelter and ice removal? What about footing in an ice storm for cattle? Creating trails to feed for stranded range cattle may require some literal leg work on your part. Consider your property and the resources you have available. Could you make a temporary shelter from bales? Is it possible to move the animals to a treed shelter and still provide feed and water? How are you dealing with injuries?
Extremes in weather, and loss of municipal services is a reality. How we prepare for it, how we consider our response is what will make the difference on our farm, to our family and in the end our community. If the power went out right now, and a storm blew in, would you be ready? Right now? What are your first steps? If you don’t know maybe now, while the lights are on, it would be a good time to start.
Making choices for the preparedness and safety of your farm is a responsibility that only you can assume. Make them good choices and your farm will come through better than if you are caught by surprise. You may even find that you sleep better at night knowing that you are as ready as you can be. I know I do.