Organic farm seeks help to cope with drought
'It's an emergency situation, it's a disaster situation,' farmer says
CBC News
Posted: Jul 12, 2012 8:47 PM ET
Last Updated: Jul 12, 2012 9:13 PM ET
Volunteers are helping an organic, family-run farm in Cobden, Ont., try to save its season as drought conditions worsen in the region.
Kylah Dobson says her farm hasn't seen a drought like this in more than 50 years. (CBC)"It's not a good situation right now," said Kylah Dobson. "It's an emergency situation, it's a disaster situation."
Dobson's family has maintained their 80 hectares of farmland at Rainbow Heritage Garden for six generations, and she and her husband dug their first irrigation pond last year.
"Luckily we made that decision last fall. It was good timing for this year because now we're in a drought that we haven't seen since 1965," Dobson said. "This is the worst drought."
Family asks for help on Twitter, Facebook
And after hearing reports that no significant rainfalls are expected until around Labour Day, the couple decided to double the pond's size. Dobson said they've hired an excavator to come in "right away."
Andrea Hughes rearranged her work schedule to help out Rainbow Heritage Garden on Thursday. (CBC)But because Dobson and her husband are busy fixing and updating the farm's irrigation lines, Dobson said they don't have much time to pull the weeds that are spreading in spite of the drought.
So they logged in to social media websites to ask for help.
Andrea Hughes rearranged her work schedule to be at the farm on Thursday.
"A friend of mine put out the 911 on Facebook that this farm needed help because of the drought," Hughes said. "And I changed my schedule and I thought, that's something I can do to help."
More volunteers are expected to show up in the coming days.
Share Tools
Latest Ottawa News Headlines
- Bob Rae stepping down as an MP
- Bob Rae, who has represented the Toronto Centre riding for the Liberals since 2008, is stepping down as a Member of Parliament to devote more time to his work as a negotiator for First Nations in Northern Ontario. more »
- Costume drama film shoots at Upper Canada Village
- A period movie about the founding of an evangelical church is shooting at Upper Canada village in Morrisburg, south of Ottawa. more »
- Minor hockey players reflect on career-ending concussions
- The 2011-12 hockey season was a devastating one for the Ottawa Sting Major AA peewees, with eight of its 17 players suffering concussions. For some, those injuries marked the end of their hockey playing for good. more »
- Tory MP fined $155 for driving through Hill security stop
- Less than a week after Tories attacked NDP Leader Tom Mulcair for failing to stop for the RCMP on Parliament Hill, Conservative MP Eve Adams was caught and fined by security for reportedly talking on her cellphone as she drove through a checkpoint. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- 30,000 Canadians are homeless every night
- A new national report into homelessness in this country tells a grim story — at least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year and least 30,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night. more »
- Obesity called a disease by U.S. doctors group
- In order to fight what it described as an "obesity epidemic," the American Medical Association voted to recognize obesity as a disease and recommended a number of measures to fight it. more »
- Neil Macdonald: Washington's obsession with leakers
- Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are just the most prominent targets in an all-out legal and propaganda campaign that America's security apparatus is mounting against leakers everywhere, Neil Macdonald writes. more »
- How open is Ottawa's new 'open data' website?
- Treasury Board President Tony Clement is touting the federal government's revamped data portal as a "new natural resource." But that online window for previously published data arrives at the same time the government faces controversy over just how open it really is. more »
Most Viewed/Commented
- Gatineau promotes itself with free shuttle service
- Minor hockey players reflect on career-ending concussions
- Mike Fisher, Carrie Underwood selling Ottawa dream home
- Ottawa craft beer breweries fuel Ontario boom
- Sharlene Bosma speaks out about husband's murder
- The Spartan Race in 90 seconds
- Ottawa RedBlacks officially revealed as newest CFL team
- Montreal mayor resigns amid corruption charges
- Woman charged after drink tossed at Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

