Reading Time: 7 minutes From the highway, the sign seems out of place. “Now open, Southern Irrigation,” it declares. Down Lethbridge way, it might not be unusual to see a yard full of irrigation pipes and reels of tubing. But Red Deer isn’t exactly the epicentre of irrigation in the province. But that may slowly be starting to change, […] Read more
Interest in irrigation in Alberta heads north
While the lion’s share of irrigation is in the south, some expect a major expansion as far north as the Peace
Grants boost greenhouse research at Lethbridge College
Reading Time: < 1 minute A pair of federal grants will allow Lethbridge College to create a new commercial-scale greenhouse and also to purchase equipment for research work in precision irrigation and in antibiotic identification from native plants. The college is getting $1 million towards its Centre for Sustainable Food Production that will be used for the greenhouse that will […] Read more
Precision agriculture means less is more for irrigators
Technology has boosted yields while cutting both water use and inputs, says University of Lethbridge survey
Reading Time: 3 minutes Very few studies have examined precision agriculture in Canada, but a new one from University of Lethbridge researchers has put some numbers on the benefits. And they’re big — both in terms of reducing inputs and in boosting yields. Last fall, economists Lorraine Nicol and Chris Nicol surveyed irrigators in the Taber Irrigation District and […] Read more
More wildfires and changes in run-off a challenge for irrigation district
A lack of tree cover can boost run-off volumes but they come sooner and with much more sediment
Reading Time: 4 minutes As wildfire experts peer into the future, they see more — and more severe — forest fires because of a changing climate. But some are also looking to the past and measuring the impact that forest fires have on the quantity and quality of run-off — two factors that could have major implications for Alberta’s […] Read more
Grants available for irrigation upgrades
Grants to reduce water use or energy use can be as much as $15,000 for each irrigated parcel
Reading Time: < 1 minute Applications are now being accepted for the Irrigation Efficiency program under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The program offers grants for new low-pressure centre pivots or upgrades to existing pivots (such as sprinkler and nozzle packages, control panels, and variable-rate irrigation) as well as drip irrigation. Any active producer who owns an irrigated agricultural operation in […] Read more
Report looks at the benefits of irrigation expansion
Study says irrigating dryland would produce big economic benefits but would need government support
Reading Time: 2 minutes A recent report from the Alberta Land Institute highlights the economic benefits of expanding Alberta’s irrigation system and offers improved forecasting of agricultural and irrigation needs. The report, entitled Systems modelling for sustainable land and water policy in Alberta’s irrigation sector, was prepared by Evan Davies, an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University […] Read more
Flood protection offers win-win for irrigators
New reservoir could protect both Calgary from catastrophic flood while increasing supply for irrigation
Reading Time: 3 minutes The 2013 “super flood” that hit southern Alberta was the country’s costliest natural disaster — with the bill for damages and recovery measures topping $6 billion. Now, a new report says there are ways to both prevent a similar disaster and also help mitigate the impact of drought. The Bow River Working Group — composed […] Read more
Bringing crops indoors generating research insights
Indoor beds allow scientists to take ‘a peek underground’ to see how subsurface drip irrigation works
Reading Time: 4 minutes Indoors’ doesn’t usually come to mind when thinking of applied irrigation research, but it has its advantages. “We have to be careful (with field studies) because you might harm somebody’s crop or interfere with whatever the farmer had planned,” said Willemijn Appels, a hydrologist and soil physicist. “You can’t push systems and the crops growing […] Read more
Coffee may profit more than soy in Brazil’s new farming frontier
Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, Brazil | Reuters –– Farmers tending vast, flat soy and cotton fields that spread as far as the eye can see in northeastern Brazil are finding that coffee crops might provide higher profits in the country’s agricultural frontier. More coffee farms are being developed in the western part of Bahia state, which […] Read more
Ontario power utilities offer farm water pump rebate
Ontario farmers buying certain types of high-efficiency water pumping systems for irrigation, horticulture or stock watering could now be up for rebates. Hydro One and Niagara Peninsula Energy (NPEI) on Friday announced the AgriPump rebate program, which the two electricity utilities described as the first plan of its kind in the province. For farmer customers […] Read more
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