Fraser Valley – AgSafeBC released Stronger Together on their YouTube channel. Stronger Together is a mini-documentary about Sumas Prairie farmers affected by the November 2021 flooding that devastated many of the region’s agricultural operations.
The video is part of AgSafe’s larger Mental Wellness in Agriculture initiative that encourages producers to reach out for help and offers mental wellness resources for the agricultural community.
The stories in Stronger Together are real and touching first-hand accounts of the psychological toll the floods and recovery have taken on many farmers and their families.
The video as a whole is a powerful look at how the people in one community have come together to support each other through a laborious, financial and mentally taxing recovery process. The stories and sharing of emotion are powerful and honest.
Premiering last week at the Pacific Agricultural Show, B.C.’s largest agricultural industry trade event, Stronger Together was produced with the support of the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Foods, Canadian Agricultural Partnership, and the Government of Canada.
On November 14, 2021, farmers, ranchers and growers in the Fraser Valley, Nicola Valley and Princeton experienced what would become one of the most devastatingly destructive events of nature to hit British Columbia’s agriculture industry. It would take many producers more than a year to even begin to recover.
The toll on agricultural producers’ mental health, and on the agricultural community at large, resulting from the many extreme weather events has been immeasurable. The 2021 floods significantly compounded the existing mental health crisis that the agriculture industry has been living with, and working to address for several years.
AgSafe encourages those in B.C.’s agriculture industry dealing with mental wellness challenges to reach out for help. Confidential resources are available on the organization’s website, www.AgSafeBC.ca/mental-wellness.
