Strawberry crops in southern New Brunswick were hit hard during post-tropical storm Arthur. About 120 mm of rain fell on Brian Walker’s Mill Stream farm over a 24-hour period as Arthur rolled through the Maritimes on July 5.

Walker says floodwaters coated his strawberries in silt and nearly 70 per cent of his crop is a write-off. “I thought I was in for a great season, but Arthur really did a number on us,” says Walker.

Walker says his farm has flooded three times this year. Prior to that, it had not flooded since 1991. With no insurance, Walker is afraid he may have to rethink his strawberry business, if he doesn’t receive compensation.

“Other sectors get compensation, so I think strawberry producers should as well,” says Walker.

Walker says strawberries are a significant part of his income and estimates Arthur slashed $100,000 from his bottom line.

Public Safety Minister Bruce Northrup is urging Walker to apply for disaster relief assistance. “Other farmers in the area have filled out their paperwork and got it into us,” says Northrup. “We’re fortunate we have a satellite office here in Sussex where people can go and get information, but we haven’t got that information out there yet and we’re in the process of getting that information out there.”

Northrup says the province will give more direction on compensation options for people early next week. In the meantime, he is asking people to be patient.

Walker says this year’s bad weather has motivated him to get crop insurance. He says he never had it before because things were never this bad.

“I did everything I could possible to have a good crop this year, but Mother Nature took it away from us.”

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/