Soil conditions good

Soils in Mountain View County have adequate moisture levels in them, and therefore are not causing officials much worry.

Jane Fulton, manager of agricultural services with the county, said while conditions are becoming drier, subsoil moisture levels are still adequate enough to not cause any alarm.

“Mountain View County is not at great risk of topsoil erosion due to the cropping practices, conservation tillage practices and maintenance of ground cover,” said Fulton.

Municipalities are able to address concerns of possible erosion through the Soil Conservation Act, she said.

The county also works with farmers to identify areas of concern and erosion when it happens. The county also works with various groups to encourage beneficial management practices that reduce the risk of soil erosion.

Rob Dunn, agriculture land management specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, said not as much soil is being lost now compared to 25 and 30 years ago, primarily due to educating farmers about the benefits of not tilling the land.

“It's an incredible success story over the last (25) years, going back to the late 1980s, early 1990s when soil erosion and loss of quality, particularly organic matter in our cultivated soils, was what some would view at a crisis situation. Wind erosion was very commonplace in the spring period and even winters down in southern Alberta,” Dunn said.

Dunn said back then, soil erosion was always a concern from wind and water during the spring due to the widespread practice of tilling the soil to control weeds. Now, most farmers are more educated about the proper role herbicides can play in controlling weeds, and aren't tilling the soil as much as in the past.

“It was an area we knew we had to fix and address from an agricultural crop production point of view and if we could keep that land in permanent cover, into hay land or pasture, then it's good crop land. Our techniques back then relied on much more tillage,” he said.

Farmers were able to lessen their reliance on tillage through seeding in areas of higher surface residue.

Farmers are also growing crops such as canola and peas that produce less residue than in the past. Residue was often used to minimize tillage, wherever possible, Dunn said.

“The crop diversity allows us to rotate crops. If you grow the same thing every time then there's going to be pest problems that develop,” he said.

Dunn said AARD spent a significant amount of time and money in the past educating farmers about the benefits of reducing tillage.

He estimated that in the 1990s the department was spending about $3 to $5 million annually on research, education and incentives for limiting tillage. Now, efforts are being directed towards managing impacts of agriculture on water quality.

“We've kind of focused our efforts in the last few years away from general conservation to some of the more pressing issues of the day,” he said, noting the amount of money spent per year is about the same as in the past, but more is being spent on incentives now.