Earth’s air is getting thirstier — a desiccating phenomenon researchers say has increased the intensity of global droughts by 40 per cent over the past four decades.
Tag Archives water
Western Canadian agriculture’s growing thirst
Editor’s Boss: Atmospheric dryness is adding a third dimension to the moisture equation driving Prairie crop yields and wildfires
How plants conserve moisture in dry conditions
Plants do best when they have a little more moisture than they immediately require
In order to take in carbon dioxide to perform photosynthesis, a plant loses water vapour to the atmosphere as the stomata open. To counteract this, a steady supply of water is needed — hence what’s called the “transpiration paradox.”
Larger cattle need more water
Animal Health: Long-term trends in the beef sector continue to evolve
The only constant is change and I have seen a lot of changes in beef production; this article will outline some of them. With lots of evidence of warmer summers, water access is paramount in most of our eyes. There’s more capacity for access by all classes of cattle, including from newly designed water troughs […] Read more
Selenium sits on thinnest line between health and hazard
Agronomy Management: Removing selenium from water is costly and difficult at best
There are increasing concerns about the potential effects of a proposed coal mine development in southern Alberta and the impacts selenium could have on the environment in southern Alberta and into Saskatchewan. The proposed Grassy Mountain Coal project would be an open-pit mine built on a former coal-mining area about seven km north of Blairmore […] Read more
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
Prepare your ranch and business plan for bouts with drought
A Little Bit Western: There are ways to extend feed and water — but do so with caution and monitoring
In late summer I was invited to the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Saskatoon to share my perspective on navigating drought. I would prefer covering a more cheerful topic, but as a fourth-generation Palliser Triangle dweller who resides on a ranch abandoned not once but twice by its former occupants, I’ll admit I’ve got experience […] Read more
Water chemistry: a Coles Notes version
Soils & Crops: Conductivity and hardness of water samples show what you can use it for
First of all: readers who have Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water can check out pages 124-125 for a detailed discussion of water chemistry, complete with calculations. Water is considered to be the universal solvent because it is capable of dissolving more substances than any other liquid. Therefore, one of the first things we might […] Read more
Nitrate down the well
Soils & Crops: If you move onto an old farmyard with an existing well, don’t drink the water without first getting it tested
This column has dealt with this topic several times over the decades we have been scribbling. Recent sources have raised the nitrate issue again. It deserves repeating once in a while, to make sure no more infants die from the blue-baby condition (methemoglobinemia). The link between nitrate-contaminated farmyard wells and blue-baby was first reported by […] Read more
Farmers, oil drillers in parched Alberta brace for water shortage
Drought could cause double-digit declines in Alberta's wheat yields, data suggests
Drought in Alberta is stretching into its fourth year and farmers and oil companies are planning for water restrictions that threaten production of wheat, beef and crude.
Subsurface irrigation called way of the future
Early adopters in southern Alberta are using drip lines to run water directly to crop roots
Glacier FarmMedia — Subsurface drip irrigation is a relatively new system to the Prairies, but one of southern Alberta’s early adopters is confident it’s an effective way to grow crops with water efficiency rates second to none. Subsurface irrigation systems deliver water directly to roots using drip lines and is commonly designed to be spaced […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
