GFM Network News

More News →

Tag Archives water

A number of heating systems can be used to keep water open 
and available to cattle during winter.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Options for keeping winter water open

Water supp??lies need to be reliable but also safe

By
Providing adequate stock water can be a frustrating challenge during colder months. Having adequate water and keeping it ice-free is not a simple task. In some pastures, water availability is also an issue. Trey Patterson, CEO of Padlock Ranches in Wyoming, says one of the challenges is keeping water thawed. “If you have multiple groups […] Read more
Columns, Hart Attacks

Remembering farm “pool” perils

Hart Attacks: You no sooner move away from a place and they start making changes

By
It was just 45 short years ago I left the farm in Ontario. I drove by the old house on a recent visit to the East to discover the new owners — a young farm family — had installed an aboveground pool. Man, a pool would have been great during those hot humid, eastern Ontario […] Read more
This photo was taken at harvest time: June 3, 2015.
Columns, Crops

Lessons in asparagus… and water

When a soil scientist grows vegetables, it soon becomes a lesson in the water table

By
Western Canadian farmers have two main ways to generate income: growing something that either goes through a grain auger or walks on two or four legs. But there are other things to grow. In 2002 I planted a small asparagus plot: 1,000 crowns of Jersey Knight male sterile hybrid imported from New Jersey. It is […] Read more
A few years ago, Inga and I had lunch by the dam. It’s a beautiful site.
Columns

Dam it anyway: the up side of dams

Detractors see the negative side effects, but dams can bring the world many benefits

By
Not long ago I saw a TV short piece with a city dude going on about the wildlife possibilities made possible by letting rivers run wild and flood as they do every so often. The gist of the argument was that all dams are bad and that all rivers should be left to run and […] Read more
This is a water well map for part of Tp 29 R13 W3, west of Milden, Sask. Legend: The “A”s next to well locations indicate that these wells date from before the survey, pre-1935. For the 2 wells that show a number instead of an A, the 74 and 70 indicate the year the well was dug. Next to the A or year, the top number shows the depth to water in the well (in feet); the bottom number shows the depth of the well (in feet). Where the circle is black, the well is assumed to be located next to buildings. Clear circles indicate that the well location is unknown within the quarter section.
Columns, Forages

The “other” moisture

Surface moisture is easy to measure: Moisture from the water table is another story

By
In making soil moisture maps as of freeze up the past few wet years, I have come to realize that we should have maps of areas where the surface moisture that we grow crops with has little or no connection to the water table. This piece adds a bit to that idea. In the 1980s […] Read more
This is a Hach Hardness kit. It’s simple to use.
Columns, Crops

Water chemistry: the Coles notes

Measure your water in the field before you use it in the house, the field or the barn

By
This piece is all about encouraging the energetic young folk that are advising farmers to measure it in the field when a water question comes up. There are many additives for spray water on the market but check the water source first. A change of water may be the best and cheapest route. Water chemistry […] Read more
This is a view of the assembled water tub inside the now-insulated blue supplement tub. The power cord feeds in through the bottom of the blue supplement tub.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Adding insulation to heated water tanks

A winterizing tip to help keep your cattle watered

By
It is that time of the year when we find ourselves fighting the cold weather to provide water for our stock. Many ranchers and farmers use heated water tanks to increase water consumption for stock/horses while reducing or eliminating the battle with ice and wasted water. Unfortunately heaters are expensive to operate and are not […] Read more
Questionable water quality is not usually life-threatening, but it can impact a healthy cow’s nutrition and compromise essential nutrients needed for good milk production.
Cattleman’s Corner, Dairy Cattle

Beware of “things” in dairy cow water

Dairy Corner with Peter Vitti

By
A professor who once taught our nutrition class a long time ago (a long time ago) said the actual amount of water drunk by lactating dairy cows was important for milk production. However, she said it was the “things” that existed in their drinking water, which often limit their health and production during lactation. Even […] Read more
An irrigation canal meanders through Lakes of Muirfield. The Western Irrigation District has been managing competing water uses and growing urbanization within its borders.
Crops, Features

Prairie land use and water rights

Alberta’s Western Irrigation District finds its way while it straddles the urban-rural divide

By
Straddling the urban-rural divide is an uncomfortable balancing act. Alberta’s Western Irrigation District, headquartered in Strathmore, has kept its balance by co-operating where it can, and getting tough when needed. For years, the irrigation district had a rocky relationship with the city of Calgary. Stormwater from the city would wash contaminants such as salt, phosphorus, […] 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

By
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

AgCanadaTV

AgCanadaTV: Your Agriculture News Recap for Dec.19, 2025

Sponsored By:
More Videos →

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast

Latest Market News

More Market News →