laying tile

Understanding tile drainage

Tiling can be a good solution for fixing multiple problems, but it can also be complex to install, and costs vary widely depending on the farm. Make purchasing decisions easier by doing your homework first.

Removing excess water is the big payoff for tile drainage. Submerged fields and saturated soils can slash yields, cause salinity problems and even spell the loss of the entire crop, if it’s bad enough. However, it is not an inexpensive fix, nor is it a simple solution, and it won’t work for every farm. That’s […] Read more


 PTx Trimble’s new WM-FieldForm system allows farmers to complete drainage operations from initial planning and mapping right through to the implement control necessary to carry out those drainage plans.

PTx Trimble introduces new drainage technology

WM-FieldForm allows for mapping and implement control

PTx Trimble, now a part of Agco, introduced a new digital system in mid-November for creating topographical field maps and drainage plans, with the software and hardware needed to control implements to carry out those plans. WM-FieldForm is capable of controlling a single scraper to shape field surfaces. It is the first water management system […] Read more

Tile drains are perforated plastic pipes installed below the crop rooting zone, used to reduce the depth of shallow water tables in imperfectly and poorly drained areas of a field. This pipe has a filter sock to prevent sediment from getting into the tile system.

Make it drain: Is tile right for your fields?

A producer and an agrologist consider whether tile is worth your while

Tile drainage may be the best tool in the toolbox to manage saline soil in fields, a southwestern Manitoba farmer told an audience at the recent Ag Days farm show. Aaron Hargreaves, who co-owns Harwest Farms south of Brandon, said he and his four partners have struggled with soil salinity on their farm since they […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Saskatchewan drainage work rebates expanded to farmers

Channel clearing, drain maintenance program shares eligible costs

A program to help rural Saskatchewan municipalities and local authorities cover costs of channel clearing and maintaining drains for flood prevention will now expand to include individual landowners. The province’s Water Security Agency (WSA) said Friday its $1 million cost-share rebate program will expand its eligibility beyond RMs, conservation and development area (C+D) authorities and […] Read more

A field with the typical very red clay in Rollo Bay West, P.E.I.

Les Henry: Thank you to my readers

Your letters and book orders are excellent learning opportunities and inspiration for my scribbles

We have received many letters and book orders with kind words, which is a great inspiration to keep scribbling, but it’s often also a chance for learning. In today’s world, it is a simple matter to use Google Earth and take a flyover. In many cases, one can also drop down via street view and […] Read more


(PrecisionLandSolutions.com)

Tile drainpipe supplier AccuPipe changes hands

Pipe manufacturer back with previous Manitoba owner

Winkler drain tile manufacturer AccuPipe is back with its previous owners after a six-year stint under U.S. management. Precision Land Solutions (PLS) announced Friday it has bought the AccuPipe business — which makes HDPE tubing for the farm, commercial and construction tile drainage markets — from Minnesota-based manufacturer Prinsco for an undisclosed sum. AccuPipe had […] Read more

How to tile a bin yard for drainage

How to tile a bin yard for drainage

Tiling a bin yard is not the same as adding drainage tiles to a field. Find out why

When a Saskatchewan farmer turned to Twitter for advice on draining his bin yard, Grainews wanted to know what that would take. As I soon found out, it’s not as easy as it sounds, but the results can be well worth the effort. As with most things, consulting a professional is probably the best first […] Read more



Figure 1. A slough on nearly level clay soil on the University of Saskatchewan farm. This photo was taken on April 28, 2017.

Natural controls on internal drainage of sloughs

Whether or not your slough will drain quickly is a more complicated question than it appears

Many farms in Western Canada are plenty wet, and the 1.25 inches of rain we got on May 7 set seeding back a few days. When a rain like that comes we hope for a hot, dry wind to “dry it up.” But, evaporation is a small party of the overall equation. Sloughs do not […] Read more