Canadian farmers scramble after staple crop gets devastated: 'What we're seeing now is consecutive years of loss'

Extreme weather events in British Columbia have made farming in the region challenging. Some crops were reduced by nearly 90% this year after a brutal cold snap in January devastated peach and wine grape crops. The volatile weather is forcing farmers to scramble to make ends meet.

What's happening?

Temperatures tumbled to nearly minus-50 degrees Fahrenheit in British Columbia last winter. The sudden cold snap devastated tender fruit crops. Buds that should have produced this summer's peach crops were decimated.

One farmer in Kelowna, British Columbia, where temperatures plummeted to minus-18 degrees, lost 60% of the income she makes from farming after just four days of harshly cold weather. The bitter cold impacted her peach, apricot, nectarine, and plum crops.

Farmers have endured successive years of extreme weather events that threaten their way of life. Frigid temperatures last year wreaked havoc on crops that weren't fully dormant, cutting grape and wine production by more than half.

"As farmers, we understand it's not always going to be a great year," said Sukhdeep Brar, the vice president of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association, per the Vancouver Sun. "What we're seeing now is consecutive years of loss. So for three years, we've been dipping into savings, waiting for next year. It's at the point where we need next year to be a good year."

Why is the loss of staple crops in British Columbia important?

This year's cold snap cost over $180 million in damages. The damage that farmers deal with in extreme weather has a ripple effect that finds its way to their customers as food prices are driven higher and finding certain staple products becomes more difficult.

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Extreme weather has been impacting farmers worldwide. Pennsylvania potato farmers recently had to deal with lost crops after a combination of extreme weather events. A drought followed by a freeze hit pecan producers in Texas hard this year, too.

What's being done to help farmers?

In a bid to enhance agricultural sustainability, British Columbia announced a $70 million Enhanced Replant Program in March designed to help tree fruit, berry, and wine grape growers transition to climate-resilient varieties of in-demand crops.

"There are few things better than locally grown fruit and locally crafted B.C. wine," said Premier David Eby, per a news release summarizing the program. "We're taking action to support farmers who have been hit hard by a changing climate with a new task force and replant program, which will help about 1,000 more growers revitalize their farms and protect their businesses. The security of our food and our economy depend on the strength and resilience of our farmers."

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Advances in technology are also helping. An innovative way to protect staple crops from heat waves was recently developed by a group of Chinese and U.S. researchers. Scientists have also made a game-changing discovery this year that could help in producing "a food of the future" that could withstand some of the adversities of an overheating planet.