No days off: Sask. farmers brace for week of freezing weather

A forecast predicting a week of frigid temperatures leaves Saskatchewan farmer Josef Buttigieg with a sinking feeling.

“I’m really hoping that this is the last of the cold of this winter, and it has been a long winter, for that matter,” he said. “I don’t remember many days being that pleasant to begin with, and there’s been quite a few days it’s been a struggle.”

Read More:

• Evan Bray Show: Sask. entering longest cold snap of winter, climatologist says
• Extreme cold warnings return to much of Saskatchewan
• Extreme cold to last at least another week in Sask.: Environment Canada

Environment Canada issued extreme cold warnings for much of the province on Monday, promising a “multi-day episode” of cold temperatures, dipping even lower thanks to frigid wind chills.

With temperatures plunging to -30 C and often feeling like -40 C in the wind, Buttigieg said more work is needed to keep his farm outside Lumsden running smoothly.

“It is hard on the animals to begin with, but it’s also hard on the equipment and hard on the farmer trying to make sure that everything is functioning,” he said.

Buttigieg said the cold is an added pressure with lambing starting soon. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

About 250 sheep and 30 cows live on the farm, with a few chickens and roosters running around. Buttigieg said his livestock eat 20 per cent more food when temperatures dip from seasonal norms to extreme cold.

“With sheep and cattle, especially as long as they have a full stomach, that actually provides a substantial amount of heat,” he explained. “It keeps them quite warm, as well as trying to keep them out of the wind as much as possible.”

Without automatic waterers in the animals troughs, Buttigieg said he is constantly checking to make sure the heaters are still operating and the troughs aren’t frozen over.

“If they don’t function, it does not take long for a 300 gallon, 400 gallon tank to freeze absolutely solid,” he said “Once that happens, then it’s a bit of a nightmare turn to get that ice block out of there and then start from scratch again.”

Buttigieg said dealing with frozen equipment that often won’t start due to the cold can be a “hell of a headache.”

Buttigieg said the extreme cold is hard on everything at his farm. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

After the struggle this winter, Buttigieg said he’s going to try his best not to complain no matter how hot temperatures get during the summer months.

“I’m not happy,” he said about the cold. “I’m planning for summer.”

Miles Petersen, a rancher who runs an operation near, Mortlach, said he’s giving his cows and donkeys an extra helping of food to help them stay warm.

“It’s just another day at the office,” he said. “It just takes a little more time to get the job done, but it always gets done.”

Petersen dishes said he out 10 extra pounds of food to each of his 500 cows when temperatures dip into extreme lows. He also keeps a close eye to make sure the animals’ water heaters have not frozen over.

Like Buttigieg, Petersen said breakdowns have held up work on the farm this year. During the last cold snap, he said his tractors would not start.

“There’s other places I’d like to be, but I love my cows,” he said.

A donkey and a foal stand in a corral at Petersen’s farm. (Miles Petersen/ Submitted)