The rains may have come to many regions of the Prairies – too much in
some areas – yet for many farmers it came too late or their farms were
skipped over completely. But those hit by drought this year have an
ally.
Ernie Barber, dean of the college of agriculture at the University of
Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, said the institution has created a drought
committee to help farmers and agribusinesses.
“It’s very, very important that our faculty respond now,” said Barber.
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The colleges of agriculture, engineering and veterinary medicine are
involved, in addition to summer staff hired to assist with the project.
The committee has launched a website aimed at providing practical
advice on drought management at www.drought.usask.ca.
Updated daily, it will examine concerns like when to return livestock
to drought-ravaged pastures after good rains and how to protect
unseeded acres from erosion.
Weekly features will concentrate on topics raised by farmers who phone
or e-mail faculty, Barber said.
The first one focused on using annual cereals to supplement summer and
fall grazing and winter forage supplies, and fallow management in
drought conditions.
In addition to the website, Barber said the university hopes to
influence government policies by providing information on how to
respond to the drought in the short and long term.
Barber felt the university missed an earlier chance to help provide
information when Walkerton, Ont., experienced widespread water
contamination. The university handled numerous calls about E. coli,
livestock and water in the weeks following that incident.
“We dealt with things as they came in, but we missed an opportunity to
let the public know the university does have up-to-date information
that can be helpful in individual situations.”
