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This graphic, from a University of Minnesota Extension Bulletin, shows some common designs for tile drainage.
Columns, Crops

Trying tile drainage on your farm

There's information out there. Do your homework before starting tile drainage

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I am not an engineer and will not give recipes for pipe size, spacing or equipment. Rather, I’ll look at the principles and steps a farmer should take before investing big bucks in tiles. Tile drainage is not a new technology. Many of the better soils of the world are on flat, low lying, high […] Read more
Tile drainage in progress south of Melfort, October 2014. The water table was high and tiles were running as soon as installed. The drain outlet is Melfort Creek. This project is on the Alan Hurd farm. Mark Gordon of Agri-Trend provided the soil EC mapping of the site and Stu Brandt of NARF (Northeast Agricultural Research Foundation) installed the observation wells and is monitoring the site.
Columns, Crops

Soil salinity: causes, cures, coping

After recent wet years, we’re seeing salinity again. Learn to cure it or cope with it

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A few years back we predicted that the super wet years would lead to a marked increase in soil salinity. It is now happening. In this piece I am not going to talk about Solonetzic soils or true Alkali (high pH , low salts) soils. I’m talking only about saline soils — soils that have […] Read more
Profiting from winter wheat
Crops, Winter Wheat

Profiting from winter wheat

When Greg Stamp looks at the numbers 
on his farm, winter wheat pencils in well

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With price spreads between feed wheat and milling winter wheat compared to HRSW very narrow this fall, it looks very attractive to grow a winter crop on either irrigation or dry land. Irrigated and dry land winter wheat can yield 20 to 30 per cent more than HRSW. And, if you’re selling into the feed […] Read more
Install the well. This photo shows a well installed with a cap on top — just loose of course. This was a very clean 11 foot hole so I had to set the top with natural clay from auger leavings.
Columns, Crops

DIY: Installing water table wells

With water in the soil, we can survive on little rain. Learn how to measure what you have

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2015 will go into the books as a very different kind of growing season. In central Saskatchewan we started off with soil completely full of water after a big dump of snow on April 26. My rain gauges showed 2.5 inches of water when it all melted. And then Mother Nature turned of the tap […] Read more
Rethinking the natural water cycle
Crops, Features

Rethinking the natural water cycle

The natural systems we rely on and think of as simple are actually very complicated

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Groundbreaking water research out of the University of Saskatchewan has just been published in the international science journal Nature. Researchers Jaivime Evaristo and Dr. Jeffrey McDonnell of from the U. of S. and Scott Jasechko of the University of Calgary have taken a new look at the hydrological cycle, something that’s been pretty well established […] Read more
Irrigation key to Alberta’s economy
Crops, News

Irrigation key to Alberta’s economy

Study shows that irrigated agriculture contributes $3.6B to Alberta's GDP

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A new study claims that irrigation agriculture is increasingly vital to Alberta’s economy, and irrigation farmers are key contributors. “The Economic Value of Irrigation in Alberta,” a study commissioned by the Alberta Irrigation Projects Association (AIPA) and funded through Growing Forward 2, claims that combined annual sales of irrigation crop and livestock products generated about […] Read more
Irrigation: Past, present and future
Columns, Crops

Irrigation: Past, present and future

During the past few wet years, irrigation projects have lost their urgency. Now is the time to refocus

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This column has dealt with irrigation many times over the past decades, but this instalment deals mainly with the situation in Saskatchewan. Alberta is the big irrigation province where irrigation has been going for the longest but it has pretty well maxed out the acres that have water available. Manitoba irrigation deals mainly with potatoes […] Read more
Lynn using the tractor and blade to clear grass and debris from a ditch that will carry water for hayfield irrigation.
Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

Cows can’t wait to head for green grass

Rancher's Diary: A quick look back at May as the spring season got underway with the end of calving, and time to start irrigating

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May 5 – Last Wednesday Andrea helped Lynn put up a temporary electric fence along the south side of the pasture where the cows and calves are. This will keep the calves from eating gravel along the ditch bank and keep them away from the elk panels on that side of the field (the backside […] Read more
water irrigation equipment
Canola, Cereals, Columns

Manage water to optimize wheat, canola production

Use your irrigation system to its full potential by asking these four question about water needs

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Often the most limiting nutrient in irrigated crop production is water! Many irrigation farmers tend to under-irrigate their crops, which limits yield potential. Often the main reasons for under-irrigation are simply not checking soil moisture frequently and starting the irrigation system too late. Knowing the answers to these four questions can help. 1. How much water does […] Read more

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