Flooding has had minimal effect on Christmas turkey stock, says B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 agriculture minister.

Recent heavy rain across the province led to flooding and loss of livestock, but at a news Friday (Dec. 3), Agricultural Minister Lana Popham said a significant amount of poultry survived. As water recedes, the province can get better grasp on loss and its effect on production.

乌鸦传媒淟ast night, we heard from Harvey Sasaki, the chair of the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board. He noted that we had 61 poultry premises within the evacuation zone and amazingly, 97 per cent of they laying chickens survived 乌鸦传媒� we might乌鸦传媒檝e been hearing about turkey shortage possibilities, but I can assure you that only two per cent of the annual provincial production has been lost and I think this bodes well as we head towards some holiday meals together.乌鸦传媒�

However, when asked about turkey prices, Popham said that was an area that could be affected by floods.

乌鸦传媒淲e are going to see some prices reflected around the complications of transport and so, unfortunately, it乌鸦传媒檚 taking longer to get things to where they乌鸦传媒檙e needed and that乌鸦传媒檚 costing the trucking industry more,乌鸦传媒� she said.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 an unfortunate complication, when we see a disruption like this, but hopefully we乌鸦传媒檒l see in the new year, as things get more streamlined, that those costs will adjust.乌鸦传媒�

With waters receding, many of the highways have re-opened to traffic, including Highway 1, between Abbotsford and Hope, and Highway 3, east of Princeton, the province announced. The supply chain is being re-established, Rob Fleming, B.C. Transportation Minister, said.

乌鸦传媒淏etween Highway 3, our lone commercial truck route to the Interior, and the detours that are available now through Washington state, we乌鸦传媒檝e now seen over 10,000 trucks move products around our province,乌鸦传媒� said Fleming. 乌鸦传媒淐P rail has been moving freight, CN is working toward a mainline re-opening between Kamloops and Vancouver, expected this weekend. Airlines have continued to increase their cargo flights. Together this has made a tremendous difference.乌鸦传媒�

Popham also said 98 per cent of cows from the Sumas Prairie survived the flood, which she credited to farmers and communities working together.

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