Clifton Associates Ltd. of Regina has been chosen to lead the work on the Westside Irrigation Project in Saskatchewan. The company was selected after a request for proposals. As the prime consultant, Clifton will look after the preliminary engineering design for phases 1 and 2 of the project to expand irrigation out of Lake Diefenbaker. […] Read more
Irrigation
Alta. researchers put fertigation to the test
Subsurface drip fertigation is being studied in the lab after two years of field experiments on durum and pinto bean crops
Subsurface drip irrigation systems have been installed on about 2,700 acres in Alberta, and research is underway into fertilizer application through subsurface drip systems. Rezvan Karimi Dehkordi, research associate in the irrigation science department at Lethbridge College, has completed two years of in-field experiments on durum and pinto beans conducted near Lomond, Alta. Now she […] Read more
Tornado-type winds wreak havoc
The damage is still being tallied after an intense Alberta clipper rolled through the southern Prairies Jan. 13, toppling bins, destroying buildings and tossing irrigation pivots. Record wind speed was recorded in southern Saskatchewan where the peak equaled an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale for rating tornadoes. The Bratt’s Lake weather station, about 33 […] Read more
Sask. ag research receives $9.8 million in gov’t funding
Financial support is awarded through the Agriculture Development Fund to projects considered important to farmers
The governments of Saskatchewan and Canada will invest a total of $9.8 million this year in 39 crop-related agricultural research projects. The funding will be delivered through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, one of the primary funding sources for agricultural research projects that benefit Saskatchewan crop producers. “Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector has incredible growth potential and this […] Read more
Water allocation change proposed in Alberta
A provincial proposal to promote open-pit coal mining by helping such projects get water from the Oldman River basin is a step in the wrong direction for Alberta, said a legal expert. Such mines risk exposing irrigated farms in southern Alberta to pollutants such as selenium, said professor Nigel Bankes, Chair of Natural Resources Law […] Read more
Small phosphorus applications help wheat yields
Largest yield bump occurred with 17 pounds per acre, followed by a smaller but still significant increase at 36 lb. per acre
A Saskatchewan study has found that soil severely deficient in phosphorus produced better spring wheat yields with even small phosphorus applications, but where and when it was placed weren’t factors. Erin Karppinen, co-research director at the Irrigation Crop Diversification Centre in Outlook, Sask., said the first year of a two-year study done in 2020 showed […] Read more
Unique soil has ability to pull water from air
U.S. researchers design self-watering soil to harvest atmospheric moisture as a new source of fresh water for irrigation
A new type of soil that uses absorbent gels to capture water straight from the air and distribute it to plants has been created by engineers at the University of Texas at Austin. The gels absorb water droplets from cool, humid air at night. Then, when the soil is heated by sunlight, the gels release […] Read moreLetters to the editor – January 14, 2021
Alta. coal mining approval questioned Re: water allocations for coal development in southwestern Alberta. I am writing in appeal to Alberta ranchers, farmers, and perhaps primarily those who irrigate, with respect to the imposed development of the open pit coal mines endorsed by our current provincial government. I don’t wish to provide lengthy commentary so […] Read more
Alberta ranchers resist plans to ease coal mining rules
Water contamination fears drive landowner demands for judicial review of government decision to lift roadblocks to future development
Several Alberta ranchers and First Nations have launched legal bids to put a halt to a provincial decision easing the development of open-pit coal mines on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The ranchers fear it will not only harm their cattle operations near the headwaters of the Oldman River but also risk polluting […] Read more
Higher canola yields achieved under irrigation
Saskatchewan researcher says growers should not be afraid to apply more water if they are doing everything else right
A survey of 15 irrigated canola fields in Saskatchewan found an average yield of 70 bushels per acre in 2020. The provincial dryland average was 37 bu. per acre. This is the second year of the survey, which is being done to assess production methods in order to make recommendations, said Joel Peru, an agriculture […] Read more
