N.S. farmers reckon with storm damage from Fiona's winds and rain

As post-tropical storm Fiona ripped through Keltie Butler's farm near Scotsburn, N.S., she and her partner ventured outside to check on their newly installed solar power system. 

"It was just entirely broken and folded over, and my partner Michael just grabbed my arm and said we need to get back in the house. It's not safe," said Butler.

They prepared for Fiona the same way they did for Hurricane Dorian, when their Pictou County farm didn't suffer much damage. They secured their structures, cleared loose tools and took their animals to a safe place. 

Prior to checking on their solar panels, they saw some of their greenhouses being torn apart in the wind. 

They had four hoop greenhouses with metal frames and plastic covers. The frames are more expensive to replace than the covers so they decided to cut the plastic free. They still lost two greenhouses and many of the crops they sell at their farm stand were also ruined. Butler estimates they have tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Outbuildings hard hit

"There certainly has been lots of impact to structures, to silos, to barns, to crops, to hoop houses, all of those parts and pieces that make a farm operational," said Alicia King, second vice-president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture.

She said the impacts of the hurricane could affect the harvest into the coming weeks and months.

"It's going to be a while before we actually get the true scope of the damage. We know it's big," said King.

The province has announced a disaster relief fund for uninsurable damage caused by the hurricane. King said she's working with the province to ensure the agricultural sector will be included in relief plans.

In the Annapolis Valley, many fruit farmers were concerned about their crops as the hurricane approached. It seems the region was not as hard-hit as other areas of the province, but the full extent of the damage hasn't been fully assessed

Jordan Eyamie of Webster Farms in Cambridge, N.S., said they lost the plastic covers off six of their greenhouses in the storm.

"We're pulling the plastic off. None of it's really salvageable. It's pretty much torn everywhere," said Eyamie.

She said they tried to prepare as best they could for the hurricane, but they ran out of time.

"Before the storm. I was kind of just crossing my fingers, hoping that nothing was going to happen," says Eyamie.

"And then when I drove in on Saturday and saw the damage, I was beating myself up pretty bad, wishing that I had anticipated what was going to happen and how I could have prevented it."

Butler has spent Sunday and Monday sorting through the debris at her farm, but she's not working alone.

She said friends and neighbours have come by to help clean up,  move fallen trees, and drop off food.

"We're just kind of trying to adjust our expectations and face what's happened and find a way that we can go forward," Butler said.