RED DEER, Alta. – A $1.5 million initiative to promote reduced tillage has been launched by seven private and public organizations in Alberta.
“Currently in Alberta one acre in three is now managed using some form of reduced tillage,” said Murray Sankey, president of the Alberta Conservation Tillage Society.
“In 1991, we cropped 18 million acres in Alberta. So each year (in comparison) we’re losing approximately what we crop,” said Sankey.
In addition, 6.4 million acres out of 17.4 million acres cropped in Alberta is involved in some form of direct seeding practice.
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The Canadian average of reduced tillage practices is two out of every five acres. The world average is one in four acres. It’s estimated by the United Nations that seven million hectares of arable land is lost to erosion each year.
Formation of the Alberta Reduced Tillage Initiative was announced at a press conference during the Alberta Conservation Tillage Society conference held here last week.
Participants include Alberta Agriculture, Alberta Conservation Tillage Society, Monsanto Canada, Sherritt Fertilizers, Ducks Unlimited, Prairie Care, Alberta Pool and Olds College. Each group will provide funding and expertise.
Three objectives
The initiative has three objectives: to increase direct seeding practices by 1.5 million acres annually, reduce summerfallow fields by 300,000 acres and increase the adoption of reduced-tillage summerfallow by 200,000 acres each year.
The new organization plans to spread the word about soil conservation through meetings, courses, tours and demonstrations.
Some programs will be delivered in field demonstrations while others will be seminars held at Olds College.
