Alberta Volume Fourteen • Number One Spring 2010 • Price $3.50 Table of Contents Alberta is a proprietary publication of This Issue 4 Letter from the Editor 6 Head Office Water Right/Allocation Debate on Deck 1320 - 36th Street North Lethbridge, AB T1H 5H8 8 Diverse Skills Suited for Large District Toll Free 1-877-328-0048 10 Cows and Fish – Past to Present Phone 403-328-5114 Email: [email protected] 12 Reproduction or use of editorial content in any man- Irrigators Big Winners in Water Sale ner without written permission is strictly prohibited. Thank you for supporting our advertisers. 14 Industry Honors Peter Langemann Without them, this publication would not be possible. Irrigating Alberta is proudly produced 15 in Southern Alberta and distributed inside the Customer-focused, Sustainable Agriculture? Farmer/Stockman Ad-Viser to over 21,000 farms and ranches. 16 The South Saskatchewan Region 18 Preparing Your Yard and Garden for Drought Publisher Jeff Sarich 20 Riparian Demonstrations in the Waterton Park Front Editor 22 Maintenance Key to Problem-Free Irrigating Claudette Lacombe 23 Advertising Consultants Raymond Irrigation District (RID) Update Al Such, Mel McDonald 24 Technology and Water Conservation Pre-Press Production Lisette Cook 26 Up Seeding Rates for Higher Yields Advertising Co-ordinator 28 Born to Water – Roger Hohm Sarah Sarich 29 Micronutrients – The Pros and Cons Cover Photo Claudette Lacombe 30 Book Review – “Restoring the Flow” IRRIGATING ALBERTA – Spring 2010 • 3 Letter from the Editor One of the challenges in writing practices and projects, then we won’t the spring edition of Irrigating diligently ensure we avoid that in our backyard. Are we proud that the prairies Alberta is that we write it in have lost 70% of the wetlands that used January. There is no way of know- to sustain ground water supplies? ing in January what kind of water Robert Sandford wrote another O book – Restoring the Flow – and, if you season we have coming. As any read it, you will understand that it’s experienced irrigator can tell you, time Alberta farmers and ranchers our water situation can change in show how they plan to overcome the one good storm. challenges before them. Last July, Rockyford saw its 1-in-100 If we are honest, most people year event and received 11 inches of involved in agriculture know that mod- rain in 90 minutes. The little village ern agricultural practices are not went from brown lawns to white caps sustainable. Studies that are decades old on Main Street. show productivity decreases on irrigated But perhaps that’s the point when it lands over time by as much as 30% due comes to water management in Alberta. to soil exhaustion and water logging. We live in a variable and changing cli- Agriculture has become a Go Big or mate. Water supply, seasonal weather Go Home enterprise and most small to and human endeavors can have a medium producers are drowning under change of fortune at a moments notice. the pressures of the Green Revolution; That’s the beauty which is turning out to be anything but of an irrigation sys- green. Now, it appears that the bee col- . most people involved in agriculture tem isn’t it? lapse is related to the philosophy of ever Irrigation systems increasing production from the same know that modern agricultural provide an amount piece of land. We keep pushing for of security and take more from less and believing we can practices are not sustainable. some of the wild chemically augment and everything fluctuations off will be fine. weather variability. No wonder someone dreamed up Although, I think it’s important for the idea of a crystal ball because while Alberta irrigators to acknowledge that hindsight is 20/20 it’s also too late to places exist in this world where irrigation avoid disaster. But that’s the beauty of systems have done damage to the social living and working in Alberta. We have and environmental fabric of countries. the opportunity to do better here The destruction around the Aral Sea because we can learn from older sys- is the result of too much water extrac- tems and places that show our tion upstream causing the sea to shrink vulnerabilities by what they’ve endured. to about 33% of its 1960s size. Plus the I don’t think any of us want to expe- reduction in fresh water inputs created rience what the Australian farmers and an increase in the salt content of the ranchers faced in recent years. I doubt water to the point where fisheries and an Alberta farmer would trade places water use for other purposes is no with someone irrigating from the longer feasible. Apparently, salt on the Ogallala Aquifer or farming on the winds is killing the soils as far away as banks at the mouth of the Yellow River Afghanistan and the people in the in China. region breathe in salt. Nope, if you own a farm or ranch Why do I think we need to acknowl- with irrigation rights in Alberta, you edge this in Alberta? Because if we do are right where it’s best to be. So, make not acknowledge that it is possible to sure it stays that way for your grand- cause damage through careless irrigation children. 4 • IRRIGATING ALBERTA – Spring 2010 RENT, R.O.I.R.O.I. LEASE OR BUY... Return on Investment Flaman has the equipment MADE to help you obtain and POSSIBLE BY maintain the maximum return for all the hard FLAMAN work you have invested. Telehandler dDIECI has you covered New Agriculture The only disc that can stand up in the Flaman rental fleet. Telehandler Call for Demos Wheatheart POST POUNDERS & POST HOLE AUGERS Fencing HEAVY HARROWS AND LAND ROLLERS ROTARY CUTTERS equipment Equipment with the best features and Many models to choose from to built tough strength in the marketplace. suit your every need. to take it! GRAIN CARTS Wheatheart Load-Out Augers Self-Propelled Auger Transport Kits Hydrostatic Bin Sweeps Portable Bin Sweeps Supersweep Bin Sweeps Transfer Augers • walking tandem dual wheel • 30’ or 36” row spacing Portable Pits • oversized wheel pivot pin • unique pin and clamp design • low profile • narrow transport width IRRIGATING ALBERTA – Spring 2010 • 5 Water Right/Allocation Debate on Deck NOW IT’S TIME TO HAVE YOUR SAY BY C. LACOMBE The last issue of Irrigating Alberta urged irrigators to watch for the FITFIR debate and be prepared to The Minister’s Advisory Group on Water engage in the process. According to Bev Yee, Management and Allocation investigated cur- Assistant Deputy Minister Environmental rent and future pressures provincially and Stewardship Division, public consultation begins in specifically for the seven major basins. The advisory March 2010. group provided high-level recommendations in five TOver the past six months, the government asked some of its areas: protected water, reallocation of water, a sys- think tanks to provide recommendations and you can view tems approach, governance and future studies. the reports on-line as listed in the sidebar of this article. http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/ library/8239.pdf It may also be a good idea to bookmark those sites and keep an eye on the process as it moves forward. These process- The Alberta Water Council provided recommen- es often take a year or more and, sometimes, there is more dations on enhancements to the current water than one round of public consultation. allocation transfer system. The council identified Another excellent way to stay informed on this issue is to keep talking to irrigators and watershed stewards in your areas for improvement in six areas: protected water; region. The South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) has a transfer markets; unused water; conservation; Watershed Planning and Advisory Council (WPAC) for all its administrative process; and data and information. major basins – Red Deer, Bow, Oldman and South www.albertawatercouncil.ca Saskatchewan Rivers. There is also a group for the Milk River. These organizations will be well informed on the progress of The Alberta Water Research Institute examined this debate. water allocation policies and practices of other juris- This is a province-wide process and Yee pointed out that dictions facing water challenges similar to Alberta, circumstances are different in the major river basins around the province while speaking at a Legislation & Policy including the western U.S. and Australia. The Committee workshop for the Bow River Basin Council. The Institute then conducted a comparative review of Athabasca River has different challenges than the South Alberta’s current policies to develop a white paper Saskatchewan River. outlining ideas and opportunities on how the She pointed out that this process aims to integrate environ- province can improve its water allocation manage- mental, economic and social needs for water while minimizing cumulative effects on our natural systems and ment system in order to fulfill the goals of Water for biodiversity. Life. www.waterinstitute.ca Yee outlined some of the key discussion points the govern- ment extracted from the reports listed here. All the reports recommend establishing in-stream flow Mandate all large license holders create Water Shortage needs for healthy aquatic ecosystems. In short, give the river a Response Plans. high priority allocation that will ensure it remains able to pro- Make sure planning decisions incorporate knowledge of vide the goods and services a healthy river gives our society. the existing system both from an overview and on-the-ground Before we go any further with allocations, give the rivers what perspective. Link ground and surface water in decision-mak- they need. Improve the water allocation transfer system and put in ing and develop comprehensive monitoring systems to ensure place a limit on how much of a license can be transferred.