Reading Time: 2 minutes The Eastern Irrigation District’s decision to expand its irrigation acres brings up a couple of questions. Perhaps the biggest is: Where is the extra water coming from? The answer: There’s no extra water required. According to a feasibility study conducted by the province, the 34,000-acre expansion will not require any additional draw from river sources. […] Read more
No extra water required in irrigation acreage expansion, says report
Move to underground pipe and low-pressure pivots means more crop per drop
New research digs into value of subsurface fertigation
Delivering water and nutrients straight to root zones is nice in theory, but the payoff isn’t known
Reading Time: 2 minutes Subsurface drip irrigation is gaining popularity in Alberta, and is now in use on 1,090 hectares. But while it’s more water efficient compared to surface irrigation, there are few scientific studies on subsurface fertigation (SDF) specific to Alberta crops and soil conditions. “Most of the data we have is from the U.S. on crops like […] Read more
Long-range forecast points to cool, wet spring for northern Prairies
MarketsFarm — Central and northern agricultural regions of Saskatchewan and Alberta are forecast to see cooler-than-normal temperatures with above-average precipitation over the next three months, according the latest long-range outlook from Environment Canada. The department’s latest seasonal weather maps, dated Sunday, show a 40-50 per cent chance of above-normal precipitation across most of the northern […] Read more
Alberta’s Lakeland to offer ag tech degree
College to launch first-in-Canada program in September
East-central Alberta’s Lakeland College is set to offer what’s billed as Canada’s first degree program in agriculture technology, as a two-year post-credential program, starting in September. The program, announced Wednesday, will consist of full-time studies at Lakeland’s campus at Vermilion, about 180 km east of Edmonton, plus “experiential learning practicums” off campus, en route to […] Read more
Longer-range forecast points to warmer-than-normal winter
MarketsFarm — Warmer-than-normal temperatures are in the long-range forecast across all of Canada for the next three months, according to the latest outlook from Environment Canada. The latest seasonal forecast from the government agency, released Thursday, calls for a 40 to 70 per cent chance of above-normal temperatures from January through March for the western […] Read more
Precision irrigation has great potential, but it’s tricky
Understanding how moisture moves through parts of the field is one of the goals of the four-year study
Reading Time: 4 minutes Water has always been at a premium in the Irrigation Belt of southern Alberta. “Our water system is closed,” said Willemijn Appels, an irrigation scientist with Lethbridge College. “There is no more extra water that can be withdrawn for agriculture. Our water licences are already allocated. “We need to use water more wisely and make […] Read more
Universities and colleges to take over key provincial research programs
Schools will get transition grants to take on former government programs and researchers
Reading Time: < 1 minute The provincial government is transferring several research programs to universities and colleges. They are: University of Alberta Will receive $3.7 million for taking on four programs and their lead researchers. They are Sheri Strydhorst (cereal agronomy), John Basarab (beef genomics and feed efficiency), Marcos Colazo (reproductive management in beef and dairy cattle), and Valerie Carney […] Read more
Saskatchewan agriculture minister cruises to election win
NDP's ag critic trailing, with mail-in votes still to come
Another incumbent agriculture minister easily held his seat as Saskatchewan’s governing Saskatchewan Party scored another decisive majority in Monday’s provincial election. David Marit, MLA for the southwestern riding of Wood River since 2016, held his seat by a spread of 5,177 votes over the New Democrats’ challenger, teacher Roger Morgan, with 459 mail-in ballots remaining […] Read more
More crop per drop — irrigation gets ‘historic’ cash injection
New $815-million project will irrigate another 200,000 acres without any additional water allocation
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are a lot of big numbers behind a “historic” expansion of southern Alberta’s irrigation system, but also the smallest possible one — zero. That’s the amount of extra water that will, or rather won’t, be needed to add more than 200,000 irrigated acres that will be created by a $815-million project, officials say. “With […] Read more
Federal fund, Alberta government back irrigation upgrades
Infrastructure Bank lends cash for system improvements
Eight irrigation districts in Alberta are set to tap into the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s new $1.5 billion pool of funding earmarked for irrigation, to receive loans worth about $407.5 million. The Alberta and federal governments on Friday announced a total investment of $815 million — including repayable CIB funds, provincial support and irrigation district contributions […] Read more
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