Cattle producers in northeastern Saskatchewan who are watching overflowing saltwater lakes flood their pastures and water supplies shouldn’t assume those resources are lost to them.
Once the water subsides, producers should test the soil and water to determine the impact of the flooding, experts said.
Last week producers in the Rural Municipality of Humboldt were concerned that as Deadmoose and Houghton lakes joined for the first time in more than 100 years, the salty water would cause problems. Waldsea Lake is also salty and 67 cabins at the regional park in the RM are affected by flooding.
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“Due to the extreme flooding, hundreds of acres of pasture land has flooded around these lakes, including many dugouts,” wrote administrator Corinne Nimegeers in an e-mail released at the legislature last week. “In time when the flood waters recede, the saline soil will permanently ruin this land forever. These farmers have no option but to find some other source of pasture land and drinking water for their cattle.”
About 500 acres were under water last week.
Agriculture minister Mark Wartman said provincial community pastures in the northeast have room to temporarily accommodate up to 1,000 cow-calf pairs. As well, some First Nations reserves in the area have offered pasture land.
Cattle producers should consult the agriculture department’s website to find out what land is available and where, Wartman said.
But provincial soils specialist Ken Panchuk said it’s too early to tell how the salt water will affect the land and its grass.
“Most pasture and native species have some tolerance to salinity,” he said. “That’s probably why these species would be growing in that vicinity.”
He said the length of time the water sits on the land will dictate which species survive. He suggested producers wait until the water recedes and then test the soil to determine salinity levels. That will in turn determine what they should plant to replace plants that didn’t survive.
“There are too many unknowns to make an assessment at this point in time,” Panchuk said.
Bart Lardner, a beef nutritionist and researcher at the Western Beef Development Centre in Lanigan, Sask., also recommended producers test the water in affected dugouts.
He said they must know if the pH balance of the water their cattle drink has changed and the level of total dissolved solids. Elevated levels of salt, magnesium, calcium and sulfates can affect an animal’s ability to absorb trace minerals, Lardner said.
Producers who test their water and find problems should pay close attention to their mineral programs, and should consult nutritionists and veterinarians.
“Water is the first nutrient they should be paying attention to,” he said.
In extreme situations, cattle could contract polio because of their inability to absorb thiamin.
“We have seen that in drought areas,” Lardner said.
He added that it could take a season or two for dugouts to get back to normal as rain and snowfall dilute the contamination.
Some dugouts are fed by ground water. They should be tested, too.
