Saskatchewan producers are now able to apply for up to $500,000 in funding under the Irrigation Development Program for irrigation expansion projects, an increase from $300,000 in funding in 2021. The Irrigation Development Program supports the installation of irrigation infrastructure, such as pumps and pipelines, to create a secure water supply to the edge of… Read More
Update, as of late April 26: The Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District says it has been advised a deal has been reached between the Alberta government and the Peigan Nation that will allow water to begin flowing to the district. Read more here. There are conflicting accounts on what is happening, and the reason why, but… Read More
Editors note: This story has been updated as of April 25, 2022. Farmers are all well aware of what happens when mother nature turns off the water tap, but what happens when human-engineered access to water is suddenly blocked? Water users in the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District (LNID) in southern Alberta are currently facing this… Read More
When it comes to growing crops, every drop of water counts. Irrigation researchers at Lethbridge College have long been working on optimizing the amount off water needed to grow crops in a variety of fields, but new funding will allow the team to get a more accurate view of how much moisture is present below… Read More
The government of Alberta is investing in research capacity at the Lethbridge College through the Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) program. Details are currently being finalized for a $2-million agreement that will see the Alberta Irrigation Technology Centre (AITC) and the Brooks Greenhouse transitioned to Lethbridge College. The agreement will have the post-secondary institution manage… Read More
Leveraging a loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the province of Alberta and eight southern irrigation districts will pony up over $400 million for new irrigation projects. A 50 per cent commitment from the federally-backed bank will cover off the remaining $407 million, for a total funding of $815 million for new reservoirs, enhancements to… Read More
Georgia farmer Randy Dowdy established a new world record yield for soybeans in 2019, setting the bar at 190 bushel per acre on a 3.27 acre plot. While Dowdy now reigns as the ‘yield king’, Missouri farmer Kip Cullers helped blaze the trail for contest yield winners when he put up a 160.6 bushel per acre… Read More
Dry beans are not too common on the western plains but they do have a nice fit in certain areas. One of those areas is the Riverhurst irrigation district along Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan. That’s where RealAgriculture field editor, Dale Leftwich, caught up with Riverhurst area farmer, Jeff Ewen for this episode of Pulse School…. Read More
There’s no messing around when the lead researcher of the subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system at Lethbridge College asks for soil for her project. Bins measuring six by three metres and one metre deep were filled with three different, but common topsoil types found in southern Alberta. They include Grassy Lake sand, Lomond loam and Coaldale clay… Read More
Digital agriculture company Farmers Edge has announced a partnership with Nebraska-based irrigation equipment manufacturer Lindsay Corporation to sync the companies’ farm management and water application technology. Farmers Edge says its digital agronomic tools, including satellite imagery, will be offered through Lindsay’s Zimmatic network. Lindsay’s FieldNet software and Farmers Edge’s digital platform will also have the ability… Read More
2016 was likely the worst year on record for fusarium head blight (FHB) infection in Western Canada, as the disease has spread west and north since becoming a problem in southern Manitoba in the early 1990s. According to the Canada Grain Commission’s harvest sample survey, almost a quarter of cereal samples in Alberta tested positive for… Read More
There’s a new conservation tillage practice in town. Move over no-till, reduced till and strip till, here comes reservoir tillage. The RT850 reservoir tillage tool from Minnesota-based Willmar Fabrication is designed to run between crop rows and make depressions in the ground using 10-inch teeth to create better water infiltration and reduce runoff. “You’re just… Read More
It’s been four years since Todd Boughner of Judge Farms took the plunge and installed 67 acres of subsurface drip irrigation on a sandy soiled farm near Delhi, Ontario. When Real Agriculture first visited the project, Boughner, the farm manager, was busy working with a crew to install drip tape across the entire field in… Read More
With two-thirds of Canada’s irrigated land located in Alberta, Lethbridge College is boosting its capacity for irrigation research. Willemijn Appels has joined the school as its first Mueller Applied Research Chair in Irrigation Science — a position made possible with a $3.1 million gift from Lloyd and Dorothy Mueller announced in 2014. “Producers, businesses, irrigation district… Read More
If farmers want to supersize their corn yields, they have to challenge conventional thinking and become students of the crop. That was the main message National Corn Growers Association yield contest champion Randy Dowdy shared with hundreds of farmers at the 2016 SouthWest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown, Ontario earlier this week. In 2014, Dowdy set… Read More
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