The community has answered the call to help Denis and Melissa Jackson’s family of six at White Barn Fun Farm, just outside Brooks, Alta.

The exotic animal farm, which has been open to the public since 2018, has been a hit with camp kids for years.

It suffered the loss of five-year-old Stoli, a Bactrian camel, and Butterscotch, a nine-year-old pony, which were killed in the storm. They were seeking refuge under trees that fell on them.

The two may have been different species but were inseparable as friends.

“Stoli wasn’t your typical camel. He was so friendly and very personable. You could ride him and he’d never bite or spit at people, and he tolerated the kids,” said Liza Maurette, who has started a GoFundMe page for the farm, covering costs not covered by insurance.

“Camels can be a little ornery, but he was a complete sweetheart. I would go there and lean up against his enclosure he was in and put my back on the fence talking to people. He would come put his head on my shoulder and kind of lick my cheek a bit and say, ‘I’m here.'”

“His best friend Butterscotch also perished.”

Denis was working in his shop and had 10 minutes to get his animals to more protected areas before the full force of the hailstorm hit.

After Denis settled his animals, he took shelter in the house, only to have Butterscotch and Stoli decide to venture to a different spot under two large and well-rooted trees, which eventually fell.

“It was under two trees on the far side of their pasture. They figured the tree would be better shelter, but unfortunately it wasn’t a good decision,” said Maurette.

The farm also features yaks, emus, alpacas, peacocks, goats, bison, horses, ducks, and geese, which are a source of delight for families, camps and school tours from April to October.

Besides helping run the farm, Melissa also serves as a special needs worker for Maurette’s daughter, Emily, who has Down syndrome.

“Emily is very good with animals,” Maurette said.

“She helps the kids get comfortable around them and show how to feed them. She’s really good between working with the kids and the animals. It’s the most beautiful symbiotic relationship one could hope for.”

Things insurance can’t cover

People often think insurance means that everything is covered in the event of a natural disaster, but that is not the case, which led Maurette to spearhead the GoFundMe fundraiser.

“There are some things that insurance covers, and a whole lot that they don’t. They’ll cover the big buildings, they don’t cover chicken coops and shelters. There is the loss of income they don’t cover, or the camel or pony they lost,” said Maurette.

She said exotic animal insurance is exorbitant for a farm with a revenue stream that is confined to fair-weather months.

“A camel is like a $30,000 hit. It’s not a cheap animal just to go out and purchase.”

Denis drives truck during the winter to supplement the exotic animal farm small business.

But beyond the financial implications is the grief felt by the young people who make White Barn Fun Farms a regular stop. Letters and cards from camp kids are flooding in to the Jackson family as the children they try and help in their own way.

“They have been getting beautiful cards made by kids with 25 cents taped inside to contribute,” said Maurette.

“This is just a little business. it’s not a big organization that can suffer a hit like this very easily.”

Volunteers rally

All the windows on the west side of the house were destroyed, and fences throughout the property have been knocked over. Animal pens were wrecked, leaving yaks to mingle with alpacas, creating a Noah’s Ark vibe.

Volunteers from near and far have descended on the farm since the storm to help the Jacksons pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives.

Chainsaws are put to work clearing damaged trees, while other duties include hauling branches, fixing fences and clearing dangerous debris, as well as bringing food for the volunteers.

“They had people come from Calgary to help for the whole day and another guy from Medicine Hat. It was kind of cool to make that journey and do a hard day’s work, showing they care,” said Maurette.

“There was a lot of fixing and a lot of clean up. Between the Saturday and Sunday, they got so much done. It was unbelievable.”

For more information about the fundraising campaign, visit GoFundMe.

As of Tuesday, $10,270 had been raised.

The post Volunteers help exotic animal farm rebuild appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Farm safety experts, however, urge farm families not to lose sight of safety — particularly when it comes to their kids — during the flurry of activity.

Farming is a relatively dangerous professsion. The Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting (CAIR) project, an initiative from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA), puts ag-related deaths at 62 a year.

It’s been on a general downtrend, reports from the association note. Of those deaths, though, 11 per cent were farm children, and according to a 2023 CAIR report, children from one to four years old posted the highest fatality rates of any age category under 20 from 1990-2020.

The same report noted than more than 400 children were killed in agriculture-related incidents from 1990 to 2020. The National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety in the United States reports that more than 100 children are killed and 32,800 seriously injured on farms each year in North America.

“We know that the majority of children and youth agriculture-related incidents resulting in death are because of runovers, drowning and collision-related incidents,” said Robin Anderson, CASA’s director of programs and communications.

There are many hazards on the average farm, ranging from vehicles, machinery, big and temptingly climbable structures such as bins and bales, livestock, ag chemical exposure, dugouts and ditches. Natural curiosity can lead to risky behaviour around those hazards.

For farm kids, it’s not just their parents’ place of work. The farm is home.

There is also a desire among farm families to get kids involved in the family business in ways appropriate to their age. Farmers will point to that as key to developing their children’s interest in the farm and helping to cement farm succession when it comes time pass the operation down to the next generation.

Those children can still feel included and useful on the farm while being kept safe, organizations such as CASA argue. They can take part in the safer farm responsibilities and be eased into more advanced tasks in controlled environments, with supervision, as they get older and different activities become appropriate for their age.

When deciding whether a child is physically and mentally ready to take on farm tasks, parents and guardians are encouraged to consult the Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines on the CASA website, Anderson said.

“The Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines are designed to help adults assess a youth’s abilities to safely perform a task and assign age and ability-appropriate tasks to youth working in agriculture, helping to prevent injuries and fatalities.”

Each guideline outlines the skills a youth must have to safely perform a task, the responsibilities of adults in supervising them and key hazards along with protective strategies.

These guidelines can also serve as a resource for supervisors and youth when discussing task safety and conducting in-person training, and can be displayed as posters to remind employers, supervisors and workers of the importance of maintaining a safe work environment.

CASA also urges producers not to rush youth into farm work, especially less supervised farm work, until they are ready.

While children one to four years old made up the biggest fatality numbers in CAIR’s child fatality reporting, the second highest category, in terms of gross numbers, was youth aged 15 to 19.

About 33 per cent of youth and child deaths that CAIR reported between 1990-2020 involved the victim working at the time.

“Children aren’t miniature adults. Although many farm children are very smart and savvy, it’s important to remember that they are still children,” Anderson said.

Safe tasks for younger children could include pulling weeds or planting garden seeds, the association notes.

It also notes that children will mimic their parents’ behaviour and attitudes when it comes to farm safety. They urge parents to model safe behaviours and foster a safety-conscious mindset. Safety can be framed as a two-way discussion with children, encouraging them to speak up about potential hazards.

Children working with livestock also face significant risks.

“Children should not be handling aggressive or unpredictable animals,” Anderson said.

She again pointed farm parents to the Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines for best practices when interacting with farm animals.

Properly labelling, storing and securing pesticides, fertilizers and other farm chemicals in designated areas that are off-limits to children can help keep children safe, CASA says.

Grain bins, silos and manure pits should also be restricted to authorized people to prevent accidents.

“Making these areas off limits to unauthorized people, including children, go a long way in preventing unintentional consequences,” Anderson said.

Farm safety experts also advise parents to teach younger children early about farm hazards, such as simple conversations about dangerous areas. As they grow older, Anderson suggests using the work guidelines to facilitate discussions on safety, training and supervision.

Every farm is unique, so first-aid kits should be tailored to the specific risks that are present. Families should assess their farm layout and potential hazards when assembling first-aid supplies. They should also regularly discuss emergency procedures, including how to call for help, and provide responders with clear directions.

Above all, parents should be role models and maintain open communication with their children about farm hazards to foster a safety-conscious mindset, Anderson said.

The post Keep kids safe on the farm appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.