The greatest threat to Saskatchewan farms is climate change. The United Nations projects a global average temperature increase of 3.2 C this century (Emissions Gap Report 2019), which would mean 6.4 C for Saskatchewan because warming is proceeding twice as fast at higher latitudes and in continental interiors. That much warming will be devastating if […] Read more
Irrigation
Irrigation dollars
After a round of public presentations earlier this month, Alberta agriculture minister Devin Dreeshen today released the full list of irrigation projects that will be funded through the Irrigation Rehabilitation Program. The government has earmarked $10 million for projects through the program that has been in place since 1969. It is a cost-shared arrangement in […] Read more
Fieldbot is really quite bossy
One field robot runs the show and tells other robots what to do, system manages not just monitors events
Fieldbot is no ordinary ag sensor. It issues orders, turns irrigation pumps on and off, controls fans and feeding equipment in livestock operations, even sends dairy cows into the parlour. Fieldbot can serve as a producer’s eyes and ears, while they’re busy carrying on with the actual work of farming. It will count cattle moving […] Read moreAlta. irrigation funding continues
Southern Alberta’s irrigation canals, ditches and pipelines make up the circulatory system that feeds a diversified agricultural industry. It adds $3.6 billion annually to the provincial economy, according to a study commissioned by the Alberta Irrigation Projects Association. Some $10 million will be provided this year to irrigation districts by the province as part of […] Read more
Corn: low N response; poor after canola or mustard
Results from a three-year study on dryland grain corn agronomics in southern Alberta show little difference in crop response from extra nitrogen application and reduced yields if grown following canola or mustard. Findings were presented July 23 by Gurbir Dhillon and Ken Coles of the Farming Smarter applied research group and by Adrian Moens of […] Read more
Sask. plans drainage demonstrations
The Water Security Agency has announced 11 agricultural water management demonstration projects to develop best practices for drainage. The idea is to gain local, science-based knowledge to help develop drainage policy. This will include a draft mitigation policy to balance agricultural and environmental needs. The WSA has been consulting on a mitigation policy since last […] Read more
Comprehensive water plan needed alongside irrigation expansion
Water scientists say an economic cost-benefit analysis is needed, and climate change must be taken into account
The plan to expand Saskatchewan’s irrigation capacity requires a water management plan for Lake Diefenbaker that addresses all the downstream concerns, say water experts. John Pomeroy, who directs Global Water Futures, the world’s largest fresh-water research program, said the $4 billion project to add 500,000 irrigable acres is far more complex than simply taking more […] Read more
Business climate as vital as water in irrigation success
Water is a necessary, but not sufficient resource to make the proposed $4 billion expansion of Lake Diefenbaker’s irrigation area a success. The stable water resource and the increased agricultural output it should produce must be the carrot that attracts investment into value-added processing that will multiply the economic activity that generates jobs, spin-off enterprises, […] Read more
Automated irrigation pivots watch over fields
The system lets producers know what’s happening in their fields and then makes recommendations on what to do next
Prospera Technologies has deployed the algorithms it developed for the greenhouse sector to turn irrigation pivots into robots that can manage crops autonomously. Prospera started operations in 2014 with a team of computer scientists who wanted to use computer vision and artificial intelligence to help farmers make in-season decisions. It now helps to manage more […] Read moreFather’s Day on the canals of central Sask.
All this recent talk about irrigation has prompted me to think about Father’s Day 2017. Not the most obvious connection, I know, but life’s like that sometimes. On that glorious late spring day three years ago, I spent a Sunday afternoon with three other people riding our bicycles in the countryside less than an hour […] Read more
