A non-profit agricultural organization has released a mini documentary about Sumas Prairie farmers who were impacted by the November 2021 floods.
The nine-minute video, titled Stronger Together, has been released by AgSafe on its YouTube channel.
The project 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.
In a press release, AgSafe says 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 release states.
“The stories and sharing of emotion are powerful and honest.”
Stronger Together was produced with the support of the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Foods, Canadian Agricultural Partnership, and the federal government.
Farmers, ranchers and growers across the Fraser Valley, the Nicola Valley and Princeton experienced on Nov. 14, 2021 – and the days that followed – what would become one of the most devastatingly destructive natural events to hit B.C.’s agriculture industry.
“The toll on agricultural producers’ mental health, and on the agricultural community at large, resulting from the many extreme weather events, has been immeasurable,” AgSafe says in the press release.
“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, AgSafeBC.ca/mental-wellness.
RELATED: Class-action lawsuit filed to recoup losses from Sumas Prairie flooding in Abbotsford
RELATED: Videos show force of floodwaters after dike breach on Sumas Prairie in November