As if drought-like conditions and wildfires weren’t enough for farmers to deal with over the 2025 growing season, now it appears some farmers are being targeted by scammers.

Bill Gregory of Haricot Farms in St. Mary’s Bay was contacted by a farmer who lost his barn in the fire on the Conception Bay North Shore.

The farmer was looking for hay for his animals and noticed an ad purporting to be from Haricot Farms offering hay at what looked like a good price, but required the purchaser to pay up-front.

Figuring it was too good to be true, the farmer contacted Gregory, and soon learned the ad was fake.

“He thought he was purchasing hay from us,” Gregory told the Tim Powers Show on VOCM. “We’re not selling hay – in fact, we had to buy some for ourselves because of the hot, dry summer we had. So, scammers are impersonating us, and taking advantage of people who have lost so much already. He thought the price was too good to be true, so that’s why he phoned us, and checked. Luckily, he did.”