Irrigation expansion has its friends and foes. It doesn’t favour every farmer or segment of the industry or society equally. It picks regional winners and losers and requires all to share in some of the costs. Producers and municipalities in irrigatable areas generally pick up the lion’s shares of operations, but the expense isn’t exclusively […] Read more
Irrigation
Sask. irrigation proposal defended
The Diefenbaker Project followed the 1930s droughts and crop failures when leaders from all political parties looked for long-term solutions. The South Saskatchewan River Project (SSRP) created a water heart in the Palliser Triangle to distribute water, primarily for irrigation, but also industries, wildlife, municipalities, power generation, flood protection and farmsteads. Dams would not have […] Read more
‘Transformational’ irrigation project praised by producers
Irrigators across Saskatchewan were all smiles after last week’s announcement of two major expansion projects out of Lake Diefenbaker. “I’m so happy today that it’s finally happening,” said Larry Lee, chair of the Macrorie Irrigation District and a long-time irrigator. Even though he won’t personally benefit from the expansion, he said so many other farmers […] Read more
Alta. vows to keep Milk River users informed
The collapse of water diversion infrastructure in the United States puts the river at risk of drying up this summer
Alberta’s environment and parks department says it is working to address impacts on water users in the Milk River watershed now that water diversion from the St. Mary River system has been halted. A concrete drop structure on the St. Mary canal in Montana failed on May 17 and repairs will eliminate any ability to […] Read more
Diefenbaker project not worth the cost
No one can dispute the many contributions that Ralph Goodale has made to public life, as an MP and federal cabinet minister. His support for a project aimed at re-plumbing southern Saskatchewan at a cost of $3 billion or more, however, is a dubious proposition at best. The South Saskatchewan River Project was conceived at […] Read more
Microdosing research helps farmers in Africa
A project at the University of Saskatchewan has determined how to fertilize at less cost and with greater sustainability
Fertilizer microdosing after plants have emerged is helping farmers in Africa grow more food, save money and help the environment. It was part of a seven-year research project by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan to help farmers in West Africa’s sub-Sahara region grow vegetables less expensively and more sustainably. “Instead of broadcasting fertilizers, we […] Read more
500,000 acres of new irrigation
The Saskatchewan government is moving ahead on a 10-year $4-billion project to more than double the province’s irrigation capacity. The three-phase project will begin this year with spending of $22.5 million on preliminary engineering, soil testing and some construction. The project is expected to add about 500,000 acres of irrigable land as well as enhance […] Read more
Milk River irrigators brace for worst
The Milk River runs the risk of running dry later this summer, which would eliminate irrigation for 40 southern Alberta water licence holders, change cattle pasture rotation for ranchers, force municipal water restrictions and damage the river’s aquatic ecosystem. No water will be transferred from the St. Mary Basin into the Milk River Basin this […] Read more
‘Big water’ vision may help in a crisis
It’s sometimes said that “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” meaning we need to learn from painful situations to avoid repeating past mistakes, and in rebuilding our lives after disaster has struck, we should build back better than what was there before. To prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from claiming tens of thousands of […] Read more
Sask. unveils pandemic budget plan
Saskatchewan introduced what it called its pandemic budget June 15. The government expects to run a $2.4 billion deficit for 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 virus and its effects on the economy. The budget forecasts revenues of $13.65 billion, down $1.2 billion from the previous year, and spending of $16.07 billion, up $1.1 billion. About […] Read more
