LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Irrigating alfalfa crops to feed cattle is not an economical way to produce protein for people.
The associate dean of Utah State University told a group of Alberta irrigation farmers their mainstay forage crops are costly when compared to alternatives like legumes and grains.
“Water use on alfalfa is a very inefficient way to produce protein through a milk cow,” James Thomas told the Alberta Irrigation Projects Association annual meeting here. Thomas has worked as an agricultural specialist in South America, Africa and India.
Read Also
The Western Producer Livestock Report – August 28, 2025
Western Producer Livestock Report for August 28, 2025. See U.S. & Canadian hog prices, Canadian bison & lamb market data and sales insights.
One of the greatest problems facing the world is feeding a population that grows by one million people a month.
In 1995, world population was 5.7 billion. It should stabilize at nine billion in the next century. However, as the population grows and demands more food, production alternatives and altered diets may be necessary, said Thomas.
Farmers could probably feed 20 billion people but growing food with a high cost of production like livestock may not be the way to go.
“Growing the animals gives us much less edible product at a much higher cost, relatively speaking, than eating the primary product,” he said.
How and who
Global trends see more people leaving the farm and flocking to urban centres. A two -part question in the next five decades should ask how to produce more food, as well as who will produce the food.
Thomas said food production may need to triple in the next 50 years. This could mean changing eating habits because some foods are too expensive to produce. They use a lot of water and don’t provide as much nutrition as some plants.
More attention should be given to producing more calories per acre. Crops like sweet potatoes, corn and sugar beets provide high energy and nutrition.
The pessimistic view is that more people will be forced to shift to diets consisting of grains, legumes and oil. However, as standards of living improve globally, people aren’t content to survive on a bowl of rice and beans, said Thomas.
Alternative diet
Economical alternatives to a subsistence diet must be found.
“We can produce enough now and in the future if we co-operate,” he said.
Land productivity since 1960 has improved by a third thanks to better-yielding crops, biotechnology and improved crop protection techniques.
With more irrigation and production innovations, the world can be fed.
“If all the farmers in Canada, United States and Mexico were allowed to produce everything they could without restriction, they could double food production.”
More food can be produced if there is more water available. Irrigated land has increased world wide. Since 1978 Iran has increased its irrigated farmland by 67 percent, Egypt has brought another 20 percent more land under irrigation and Canada has increased by 30 percent.
“Irrigation is becoming more common where population densities are the highest,” said Thomas.
In southern Alberta about 1.2 million acres are irrigated. Alfalfa crops cover more than 255,000 acres of land, the largest crop for the 13 irrigation districts. More than 100,000 acres of tame pasture are watered and barley at 196,000 acres is the largest cereal crop under irrigation.
Studies done by the irrigators’ association show livestock are the largest beneficiaries of irrigation farming.
