Michael Schmidt is looking for volunteer help from cowshare members and friends to help clear tornado damage which includes a busted barn and many downed trees on a 200 acre farm which he rents and which is located just down the road from the main farm. Fortunately, heifers who were out in a field when the tornado passed through Thursday afternoon, were not harmed.
Tornado damaged building in Durham Ontario. Photo: Dave Chidley, The Canadian Press, via Globe and Mail story. Click on image to see more tornado damage photos on Globe and Mail website.
Power has been out at both farms since yesterday afternoon and is not expected to be restored quickly as there are big trees lying across the downed powerlines. Even the wind generator that Michael installed last year is not working since it is tied into a net-metering system and can only generate power when the grid is functioning.
Yesterday the cows were milked by hand and farm staff were using lanterns and candles to find their way around in the dark. Yesterday Michael Schmidt was at Site 41 near Elmvale protesting the soon-to-be opened dump. Michael first learned that a tornado had hit Durham from the officers who arrrested him there (see yesterday’s story). It was evening by the time Michael got back to the farm and it wasn’t until this morning that he was able to survey the extent of damage. Continue reading
The Bovine 