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A Saskatchewan farmer who has been farming for 45 years is confronting critics of agricultural drainage and pointing out steps farmers are taking.
Published date May 10, 2024 • Last updated 22 hours ago • Reading time 3 minutes
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A tractor is seen in a field near Quill Lakes, South Carolina, in October 2017. Photo by Michael Bell /Regina Leader-Post
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A letter was recently submitted regarding agricultural water management (water quality and quantity). I would like to clarify a few points.
As farmers, we rely on soil health to help produce crops. The ice age kept the soil well mixed from top to bottom. The combination involved drilling deep into the salt-bearing Lake Agassiz potash deposits.
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These salts are naturally present in the soil and appear on the surface (in the form of a solution) when the water table rises. When groundwater evaporates, soluble salts remain, creating soil imbalances that are unfavorable to most plants.
One way to prevent these salts from appearing on the surface is to manage the water table.
The quality of the water being drained is much better than it was 30 years ago. Farmers have been early adopters of many farming techniques, including direct seeding, GPS, autopilot, plot management, and winter grazing of livestock. This has kept our air clean.
When was the last time you saw a sandstorm throughout the spring or summer? This is because standing stumps minimize wind erosion of the soil. Water erosion of the soil is also minimized.
Nutrients like phosphorus are bound to the soil and won't move into the water unless the soil moves. Many of the nutrients that people (like David Suzuki) blame agriculture for algal blooms don't come from our fields.
When removing “excess water” from fields, many farmers plan and work together to direct the water to appropriate drainage outlets (streams and rivers). Plans often include control structures, such as smaller dams or dams with gated culverts, to control the flow of water.
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This allows for appropriate outlet peak flows to be reduced before the wastewater reaches downstream. In many cases, these dams and flooded areas within fields have saved communities and other downstream infrastructure from flooding.
Some have suggested that when using GPS and autopilot technology, we shouldn't be able to drain some of these wetlands or push trees down to make the land more efficient. Consider the approximately 300,000 acres covered by Saskatchewan's villages, towns, and cities.
Virtually all swamps have been drained, filled in, and replaced with buildings, concrete sidewalks, or paved roads. Nearly 100% of rain and snow that melts within the boundaries of these communities flows into drains and storm sewer systems.
When sewer systems are overloaded by large flows, they are often redirected (as untreated sewage) to streams, rivers, and lakes.
In the case of fields, the entire field can be impregnated with 100% water. The stumps left after harvesting have root canals and worm channels that allow water to penetrate much faster than tilled soil.
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This stump and crop residue left in the field also traps snow, allowing more water to infiltrate into the soil.
To address the quality of water from drained agricultural land, some well-managed drainage networks have undergone water quality testing over the past several decades, and the results meet drinking water standards.
On land where drainage is controlled, there are approved and unapproved drainage structures. The goal is to work toward approval of all drainage work.
We use responsible wastewater to protect our soils, crops, businesses and communities. Our urban cousins do the same thing when they tend to their gardens to keep rain and snowmelt water from running into their homes and basements.
Norm Hall is president of Wynyard-based Grundy Cooperative Farms and has farmed in the area for 45 years.
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