OYEN, Alta. – In semi arid southeastern Alberta there are a few hardy people making a living out of land that was all but abandoned in the burning heat
of the Depression years.
Farming the five million acres of these Special Areas is a challenge because there is less than 30 centimetres of precipitation a year, summers are hot and the soils are fragile. This year, some parts of the area received less than 7.6 cm of rain while others measured up to 20 cm.
For the group supporting the Chinook Applied Research Association, the greatest research need is practical answers to real situations. Results tabulated from forage and crop research are valuable whether the crop survives or not.
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“If you get a result you don’t like, it isn’t a bad result, it’s real,” said CARA board member Richard Bailey, who lives between Youngstown and Veteran.
CARA, established in 1979, was the first of its kind among applied research associations in Alberta. It covers Special Areas 2,3,4 and the Municipal District of Acadia.
A number of producers in the area realized much of the information coming out of research stations didn’t fit their geography or climate. People were doing some work on their own but they didn’t share it or have the resources to continue.
Did not apply
“Results were coming out of Lacombe or Brooks and the guys were saying it wasn’t anything for here,” said Dianne Westerlund, who has been with CARA since 1981.
As manager she guides the research projects, finds the money to keep them going and makes sure the information gets back to farmers. CARA is run by a board of 19 people of which 17 are producers and two are government representatives.
Over the years the quality and complexity of their projects have grown.
The association participates in provincial trials and does specific work for the southeast.
It runs annual crop and forage trials, pasture sage control studies and studies grazing management.
Much of the work is supported by farmers who donate pieces of land for trials, chemical companies that provide pesticides and commodity groups that grant some money.
Among the special crops, chick- peas, mustard and field peas show potential for the area.
Canola has also been grown successfully.
Trying to get crops to grow is one challenge. Finding money to pay for projects is a full-time job because there is a lot of competition for money and government has cut back on what it will grant.
“It’s a balancing act,” said Westerlund.
