Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta’s irrigation districts are getting a $5.5 million boost to an annual cost-share program for modernizing and rehabilitating infrastructure. The boost brings the districts’ total 2024 share to $19 million through the irrigation rehabilitation program (IRP), an agreement between the Alberta government, which contributes 75 per cent, and irrigation districts who fund the other 25 […] Read more
Alberta irrigation gets $5.5M boost
Replacing open canals is top priority in irrigation plans for funding
Ukraine: Our common hive
The people of Ukraine continue to adapt, survive and even thrive
Reading Time: 5 minutes You wake up in the morning and drink coffee before starting the work day. You turn on the TV and listen to a long list of deaths and destruction that happened in your country overnight. The announcer speaks almost without emotion, as if he is talking about everyday, ordinary things. You hear that 10 missiles […] Read more
Alberta to study snowpack with more accuracy
LiDAR employed to provide more spatially precise data
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The Government of Alberta is working with a research team at the University of Lethbridge to measure the snowpack in southern Alberta more accurately, according to a news release. The measurements will help guide water management policies and practices as the province works to better manage its water resources. For seven months […] Read more
Southern Alberta reservoirs low for time of year
Reading Time: < 1 minute Water levels in some southern Alberta reservoirs are well below normal for this time of year according to a Government of Alberta report released May 16 on alberta.ca.
Alberta boosts irrigation spending for 2024
Irrigation districts get $5.5M bonus to update infrastructure
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta is increasing the amount it spends on irrigation infrastructure in 2024. The provincial government is boosting its portion of the annual irrigation rehabilitation program this year by providing $19 million — an increase of $5.5 million over 2023. It’s meant to help irrigation districts (IDs) update water infrastructure and allow them to do more […] Read more
Large southern Alberta water users agree to reduce water use in severe drought
Users include participating irrigation districts, municipalities and industries
Reading Time: 2 minutes Thirty-eight of the largest and oldest water licensees in southern Alberta – including irrigation districts – have agreed to reduce their water use if severe drought conditions develop this spring or summer. Described by the Province of Alberta as “the largest water-sharing initiative in Alberta’s history,” these agreements are intended to ensure Albertans get the […] Read more
Can high water use affect consumer food choices?
Not yet, but ag should be prepared if it someday does, says Alberta agricultural economist
Reading Time: 4 minutes The agriculture industry in Alberta uses a lot of water. According to provincial licence data interpreted by CBC, Albertans can expect 68 per cent of all water allocations in 2024 to be dedicated to agriculture; far ahead of industrial (22 per cent) and municipal (seven per cent) categories. For the time being, Alberta consumers seem […] Read more
Mountain View County landowners say industrial overuse of water hurts area
Gravel pit mining among key concerns as area residence report water quality issues
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s a tale of landowners versus industrial development. Landowners and concerned citizens from the South McDougal Flats area spoke recently at a hearing about the area structure plan for their region. Neil Konner, who owns land in the area, said many people in Mountain View County are concerned about the use of water, specifically in […] Read more
Action needed on drought preparations in Alberta
The Alberta Water Council released nine recommendations based on modelling exercise
Reading Time: 2 minutes The province, municipalities and water management groups need to talk to each other more if Alberta wants to mitigate future drought crises, according to the Alberta Water Council. “Preparedness and adaptability are the keys to successfully responding and adapting to the risk of multi-year drought,” the AWC said in a late-February report. That statement comes […] Read more
Ag ministry, insurance among farm takeaways from 2024 Alberta budget
Need for disaster resilience cited for funding increases
Reading Time: 2 minutes Response to disasters, water management and irrigation were the agricultural highlights of Alberta’s recently released 2024 provincial budget. The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation’s operating expenses received a bump of 9.7 per cent, rising from $77 million in 2023-24 to $870 million for 2024-25. That includes a $49-million increase in reinsurance costs for the Agriculture […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
