Research and Demonstration 

Grain storage for the Arm River Hutterite Colony has increased more than tenfold since Paul Hofer began managing water 15 years ago to address salinity issues.

The Colony, established in 1965, farms 28,000 acres, in addition to running dairy and poultry operations. Ridding soil of excess salt through a drainage and water storage system has increased overall yields, and cut input costs. The long rows of steel grain bins on the farm near Bethune can accommodate up to 400,000 bushels, a far cry from the initial 130,000 bushels.

Hofer knows firsthand how a heavy snow melt can fill low-lying areas with water, increasing the salt content in the soil and flooding crops. He has seen waterlogs caused by torrential spring rains destroy a young crop. He has witnessed how efficient drainage prevents such occurrences.

“This project has protected our farm. Because of healthier soils, we can grow different crops now, and our neighbour, where the water is going through, has made himself a bigger dugout so he can save the water for his cows,” says Hofer.

He noted that a WSA Qualified Person (QP) coordinated with the neighbour, making several site visits to explain how the system works and what it means for the land. Hofer also made time to visit his neighbour. “I took a map and showed him where the all the water is going to be running.”

With his strictly business approach to farming, Bernard Bauche believes it is not how much you farm, but how you farm that counts.

“How you farm makes a big difference,” says the third-generation producer who has witnessed drainage technology and other forms of water management evolve since his father tiled 100 acres in the 1970s. Today, he farms 5,000 acres with his two sons. Moving water from where it is not needed to where it can be used by crops is an ongoing challenge for the Redvers farm.

“Farming is a recipe and part of my recipe is drainage,” says Bauche. Always willing to embrace new technology, he turned to the Water Security Agency (WSA) when considering ways to direct more water from low-lying areas.

“My biggest thing is that WSA is project-oriented now more than it has ever been. That, to me, is the right way to go,” says Bauche, who also serves as reeve of the R.M. of Antler.

In 2019, he began an agricultural water management (AWM) drainage project that is helping to direct water to a natural creek. Determining where the drains, tiles and pumps should be installed, understanding land elevation levels and using the correct technology required extensive planning for the WSA approval process.

The agricultural water management (AWM) project at Innovation Acres near Langham is demonstrating how farmers can recover marginal land and efficiently use nutrients. In just three years, the project has produced a tremendous amount of data that informed management decisions during the growing seasons, says Blake Weiseth, Applied Research Lead at the 640-acre farm owned by Glacier Farm Media (GFM). From the floods of 2019 to the drought in 2021, data on applying variable fertilizer rates, planting annual forages for salt tolerance and using light tillage to retain crop residues have been compiled.

“Whether you’re dealing with flooding or drought, or anything in between, we’re looking at how various agricultural management practices can work together with a well-designed wetlands consolidation plan to optimise our productivity and protect water quality.”

Developing that plan with the Water Security Agency (WSA) focused on eight sloughs. A high-resolution Global Positioning System (GPS) survey revealed topographical and elevation details, all of which were essential for the approval process and the applied research. It was important to understand how the land slopes throughout the fields and how that might impact water movement.

“We really do value the relationship with WSA and the resources that they bring; the technical expertise just to make sure that we’re going through the process properly, that we’re following the proper rules, and guidance for doing this type of a project,” noted Weiseth, who often phoned the North Battleford office and spent many hours in the field with WSA staff.

Surface ditches were constructed to drain eight sloughs, three of which drain in to what has become a permanent wetland. Equipment was installed at the outlet of each ditch to measure water flow and collect samples for water quality. Soil moisture probes continuously and automatically measured moisture from the surface down to 120 centimeters.

In each of these eight mini-watersheds, a different approach is being tested to efficiently use water and nutrients to reduce the amount moving off the land. Variable rate fertilizers, residue management and a forage blend of cover crop are all being tested.

For Kyle Heggie, a properly installed tile drainage system is crop insurance.

Once he plants a crop, the tile, buried 36 inches underground, ensures excess moisture is drained away if the water table rises. Without the tile, the crop would be saturated.

“It’s now got an insurance policy under the ground on it,” he explains, adding, “That’s a good thing, because you now have an insurance level at the bottom and you have crop on top acting as flood control because it didn’t die off.”

Heggie is part of a family farm corporation and pedigreed seed growing and cleaning operation in the Leross area. Approximately 7,000 acres are cultivated in cereals, pulses and oilseeds, while 2,000 acres are left in natural bush and wetlands. Recalling the heavy snow melt of 2010 and rain events in 2012 and 2014, Heggie believes building the water-holding capacity of the landscape must be constant through floods, droughts and everything in between. The lack of water management infrastructure during those weather events left no way of “letting the bathtub plug out.”

“You want to be able to let that plug go at the right time so the people downstream can take that water. The goal is water management – capture as much as you can, use as much as possible and, if you have to, release what you have to.”

A collaborative, three-year project with the Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation (IHARF) and the Saskatchewan Farm Stewardship Association, of which he is vice president, is conducting research on the benefits of tile drainage. Installing tiles on the smaller sloughs that tend to fill and spill has positive impacts on the soils, crop yields and input costs. Soil tests in and around the sloughs indicate nutrient levels, enabling Heggie to be more precise with variable fertilizer rates.

The project is demonstrating how every seed and input can be accounted for through water management to control moisture in wet and dry years. In the 2021 drought, the tiled areas produced the best crops.

“That’s the beauty of tile; it does work in both extremes,” says Heggie.

The research is showing how temporary wetlands can produce crops and build organic matter. Crops are better able to absorb nutrients and water, which can result in less accumulation of agricultural contaminants, according to IHARF Research Associate, Christiane Catellier.

“In prairie pothole landscapes in particular, we might see less overlap of field operations on the margins of the tiled area, and so potentially less input accumulation and less soil compaction in this area as well,” says Catellier. “Tile drainage can help alleviate salinity, but the process would take longer in dry conditions as it is dependent on water movement downwards from the surface.”

For Heggie, the speed with which he seeded the sloughs is telling. In 2012, he seeded 20 acres an hour. In 2021, that climbed to 32 acres an hour with the same drill.

“That’s 33 percent more efficient on the landscape. That’s huge.”

The Gust family has been farming in the Davidson area since 1913. Innovation and cost efficiency have been part of the grain operation for four generations. Central to it all is an adequate supply of water.

“You can do everything right and still not get a very good crop if you don’t get water,” says Gerrid Gust, who farms with his father and brother. “You always want to be most efficient, environmentally and economically. We don’t want to put inputs in places where they are not going to give us a return.”

In 2020, he sought advice from the Water Security Agency (WSA) about pumping excess water from low-lying areas for irrigation. He was soon involved in an agricultural water management (AWM) demonstration project, making it possible to adapt to weather extremes that bring severe droughts or disruptive floods and still grow quality crops. The project involves draining over 40 quarters of land into a reservoir which is then used to run an existing irrigation pivot with a second pivot planned.

The technical guidance and expertise of the Qualified Person (QP) proved to be invaluable. From mapping and elevation software to culvert sizes, the approval process and regulations are thorough, detailed, and designed for sustainability.

“As in-depth as it is, it is important that everyone knows, and has time to reflect on, what they’re doing, to understand this is all science-based, with an understanding that it is for the best. It’s so that we can better use the water that we have available.”

The process required collaboration with several neighbours, as the low-lying areas where water accumulated was on neighbours’ land. The knowledgeable QP was there to answer the more technical questions about the project and its long-term benefits. “We worked with our QP, as a resource, who had all the information to provide landlords and other people within the planned area,” neighbour Rob Stone said.

Not only is the project designed to manage water, increase yields and store water, the approval provides security for future farmers. The drainage approval becomes attached to the land title, thereby adding value to the land.

“Now, if someone wants to add into the system,” Gust explains, “it’s all papered; we don’t have to go through all this again.”

In developing the drainage systems to consolidate the water, wetlands best suited for wildlife are left intact.

“You just leave them because that’s the best use for them,” Gust notes.

With the certainty of a more reliable water supply and no worries about a torrential rain washing away the system, Gust hopes to diversify into some specialty crops.

“We’re trying to make the best use of this very precious resource.”