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These sloughs with salt rings are near Conquest, Sask. Shallow (25 to 100 feet) glacial aquifers are the source of the pressure that prevents downward flow of water to drain the slough. The constant upward pressure maintains a high water table even in dry periods when evaporation is busy concentrating the salts.
Columns

Les Henry: Sloughs and ‘bathtub’ salt rings

Some sloughs have rings, some do not — why?

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Sloughs (polite name is potholes) are widespread on the Canadian Prairies and particularly in Saskatchewan, which has a great depth of glacial deposits. The sloughs catch much of the snowmelt and runoff from summer rains. If the water in the slough is the sole cause of salt rings, then all sloughs should have them. Artesian […] Read more
File photo of an old-school hand-operated pump on a rural Alberta property.
Columns

Digging wells and finding water

Where to find the information you need before digging

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Unfortunately, by the time this issue hits your mailbox, many farmers will have the slim pickings of 2023 in the bin or bales. It has been especially brutal for cattle folks who have little hay to bale and face the awful decision of downsizing herds, including the loss of genetics built up over many decades. […] Read more
For most farmers, the simplest, easiest and cheapest way to measure soil moisture is using the hand-feel method.
Columns, Crops

How to understand and measure soil water

It’s important to estimate stored soil moisture at planting to adjust crop inputs

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Water is often the most crucial factor in controlling crop yields. The amount of water used by crops can be affected by several factors including the availability of stored soil water, amount of precipitation during the growing season, crop rooting depth and various environmental aspects such as day length, amount of solar radiation, humidity, temperature […] Read more
The tree row catches the snow, and the big slough goes from dry to high water table. In years gone by, I spent many hours with three, two-inch pumps to move water from the slough to adjacent upland — not always a huge success.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Twenty-seven years of crops at my Dundurn farm

And a few lessons learned

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In the early 1990s, agriculture in Saskatchewan was still suffering from the devastation of the 1980s. Drought and poor crops with low prices were bad news. But, interest rates as high as 20 per cent were the kicker that resulted in much land going back to FCC or the Royal Bank. (Yes, Virginia, interest rates […] Read more
Bill Meneley (wearing sunglasses) checks out a flowing well on the farm of Gerry Wiens of Beechy, Sask.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Why do wells flow?

How to plug them and how not to plug them

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I will dedicate this piece to the memory of Bill Meneley (1933-2000), a hydrogeologist of much renown and our special consultant for the soil salinity work of the 1980s and ’90s. Those of you long enough in the tooth might remember the famous Red Adair, who was called in whenever a problem oil gusher was […] Read more
A look at last year's map shows the red has mostly given way to yellow.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Soil moisture map for 2023

This year’s map won’t be a surprise for most farmers

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Before we talk about the 2023 map, perhaps we should take readers back to the very first Stubble Soil Moisture Map, which was for the province of Saskatchewan only. It appears on page 109 of Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water if anyone wants to check it out. As far as I know, it was […] Read more
In August 2021, the Classen family used the water in their reservoir to backflood the tile drainage system to save some of their soybean crop, which was wilting and under extreme stress. They saw big results within 24 hours.
Crops

Take a ‘deliberate’ approach to water management

Backflood irrigation combined with tile drainage supported some of Joel Classen’s soybean yields through one of the driest summers on record

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To prepare for future drought, Prairie farmers could consider using large ponds with controlled drainage structures and tile drainage for a “much more deliberate water management approach,” says David Lobb, a professor of soil science at the University of Manitoba.  “It’s possible to hold water back and use it when we need it in a […] Read more
This almost-robot looking device is the John Deere Field Connects weather station that collects a wide range of environmental data such as rainfall, solar intensity and wind speed. The weather station also ties into the moisture probe which is installed near the steel post at right.
Crops, Features

Are you leaving water on the table?

New app and service gives producers a better handle on moisture

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Since technology so far can’t make it start or stop raining on dryland farms, it is obviously important to make the most efficient use of moisture that is available during the growing season. But how much moisture do or will you have for that crop? Depending on the year and location, spring seedbed soil moisture can range from […] Read more
(WSask.ca)
Crops, Weather

Saskatchewan to tap farm leaders for drainage board

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Representatives from four Saskatchewan farmer organizations will sit on a new provincial advisory board on farm drainage policy. The provincial government on Tuesday announced the creation of two advisory boards: a policy development board and technical review board. Specific members haven’t yet been named to either board, but the province said the policy advisory board […] Read more
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

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