By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Monday, July 24, 2023

Jul 24, 2023 | 12:04 PM

A group of Saskatchewan farmers said they’re draining water in a way that doesn’t harm others downstream.

The farmers, part of the Tetlock Drainage Network near Grenfell, Sask. recently provided a tour of their land to show the practice doesn’t cause flooding if it’s done properly.

The farmers work together to move water through each other’s land and into a creek that features control gates, holding ponds and smaller culverts to drain water at a slower pace.

Ryan Maurer, a farmer who is part of the network, said flooding can be resolved when landowners work together.

The Water Security Agency said it’s looking to bring unpermitted networks into compliance. It’s also working on a wetlands plan to ensure drainage doesn’t harm water quality.

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Northern communities are increasingly using greenhouses to grow their own produce.

Andrew Spring is an assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and a Canada Research Chair in northern sustainable food systems. He said food security has been an issue across the North because of the high cost of groceries and the long-term impacts of colonization on Indigenous communities there.

In the western Arctic town of Inuvik there’s a community greenhouse in a former hockey arena that runs April to September. Inside, tomatoes, zucchinis, beans, wildflowers, and herbs grow in rows upon rows of raised garden beds.

Betty Kogvik is a technician with the Naurvik hydroponic greenhouse in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. Conditions in the community 250 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle make it difficult to grow vegetables. The cost of food is high, and some is often already mouldy by the time it arrives. She added she’s proud to see food grown at the greenhouse going to elders and children.

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A new living lab will be established in Ontario.

The living lab will work to respond to climate change by bringing together producers and scientists, among others, to co-develop, test, and evaluate on-farm beneficial management practices (BMPs).

These BMPs, which support livestock and cropping systems, nitrogen use, manure storage, landscape management, and grazing management, will help store carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on Ontario farms.

Building on the success of the Living Laboratories Initiative that ran in PEI, Manitoba, Quebec, and Ontario from 2019 until March 2023, the Agricultural Climate Solutions – Living Labs program breaks down barriers between research and application by co-developing and testing new ideas in real-world conditions.

This Canadian model has received international acclaim and inspired similar initiatives in other countries around the world.

New living labs in two more provinces will be announced in the coming weeks.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW