ECA Review 2023-03-09

AGRICULTURE
STETTLER COUNTY
Ag board hears farmers want to plant trees
10 MARCH 9'23 HANNA/CORONATION/STETTLER, AB. ECA REVIEW
Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review
The County of Stettler Agriculture
Service Board (ASB) heard that
farmers and residents in the municipality
are interested in planting trees
and want more information about how
to do it. The topic was discussed at the
Feb. 22 regular ASB meeting.
The ASB is comprised of members of
county council and chaired by Coun.
Dave Grover.
Board member Les Stulberg
reported that a ratepayer approached
him recently and asked if the county
shelterbelt program remained in place;
Stulberg replied it was but didn’t have
all the details on hand.
Stulberg asked what the deadline for
the shelterbelt program was and
whether a discount was still in place. It
seemed the discount applied to producers
attending a shelterbelt
workshop.
Readers should note a shelterbelt is
essentially a row of trees planted for
agricultural and/or environmental
purposes.
Director of Agricultural Operations
Quentin Beaumont responded the shelterbelt
program remains in place and
plans are underway for another shelterbelt
workshop which would be held
Donalda
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Cattle
Watering
Systems
For Sale
403.323.0031
in mid-March.
Coun. Grover noted he had been
asked about prices. Beaumont
responded when the public calls in for
that information he directs them to a
website called treetime.ca, “...because
that’s where the trees and the prices
are.”
Coun. Justin Stevens stated the federal
government apparently has a tree
planting program either in place or
coming soon; he asked if the County of
Stettler shelterbelt program can access
those funds. Beaumont stated he will
investigate and report back at a future
meeting.
Tree clearing
Board members discussed the topic
of clearing trees and brush away from
roadways, ditches and intersections
that comes up on a regular basis at the
ASB meetings.
Coun. James Nibourg noted he’d
seen county staff clearing brush and
asked if that was just dead trees being
moved, or if problematic trees were
also being removed.
He further noted funds had been
budgeted for custom brushing and
asked when that program would begin.
Staff responded that Nibourg saw
county workers clearing dead brush on
a selective basis. Staff also reported on
the possibility of a tracked Caterpillar
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vehicle that may help with tree
clearing.
It was also noted programs such as
brushing and herbicide spraying are in
the planning stages right now.
Nibourg also noted he’d been travelling
in the north part of the county
recently and saw County of Stettler
staff cutting brush and loading it onto
trailers for disposal. Nibourg stated he
thought the county had a chipper and
suggested hauling the branches was
inefficient.
“Does that not feel inefficient to you
guys?” asked Nibourg.
Staff responded it did feel inefficient
and managers planned to spend time
in the field with workers on activities
like chipping tree branches.
Beaumont pointed out the county did
borrow a chipper from the Town of
Stettler but it was designed for chipping
smaller branches; also, a chipper
was cut from the budget to save
$50,000.
Beaumont also pointed out staff
must be cautious with chipping as diseases
such as black-knot can be spread
unintentionally.
Coun. Grover noted the power company,
when chipping, does it on site
and simply leaves the chips there.
Grover also stated he wants “bad corners”
brushed to prevent motor vehicle
collisions. He noted heavy brush can
Assess manure storage, wintering sites
“Short-term in-field manure
storage and seasonal feeding
and bedding sites. What do they
have in common? Surface water
and the potential for nutrient
accumulation in the soil, that’s
what,” says Deanne Madsen,
sustainable agriculture
resource specialist with the
Alberta government.
“When was the last time you
observed surface water flow in
and around your fields where
manure is stored, or livestock
are fed?
Taking the time to note where
nutrients accumulate, and surface
water runs and pools on a
field can be a huge benefit when
determining where to locate
short-term manure storages or
seasonal feeding and bedding
sites.”
One risk associated with
storing manure temporarily in
fields, or managing a seasonal
feeding and bedding site, is the
potential for manure constituents,
such as nitrogen and
phosphorus, to leave a site
during runoff events. Runoff
events occur because of snowmelt
or heavy rains. Frozen soil
increases the loss, as infiltration
does not occur.
AGRI-NEWS
“This risk and potential
impact are greater when runoff
can potentially enter nearby
water bodies, including lakes,
irrigation canals and ditches,”
says Madsen.
“Too much phosphorus can
degrade surface water quality
by promoting algae growth,
rendering the water unfit for
consumption or recreational
activities.”
A second risk associated with
managing temporary storage
sites or seasonal feeding sites is
nutrient accumulation.
Repeated use of a site can result
in significant deposition of
nutrients. This can be made
worse if there are no management
or cropping options for
nutrient removal from the site.
High soil nutrient levels can
lead to loss of valuable nutrients
in runoff and result in
increased downward movement
of water-soluble nutrients like
nitrate-nitrogen. Elevated levels
of nitrate leaching into groundwater
can make the
groundwater unfit for consumption
by animals and humans.
To prevent this, manure
should be located away from
places where water pools and
runs off via channels leading to
ditches, irrigation canals and
water bodies. To prevent accumulation,
rotate your
temporary manure storage and
feeding sites.
“Taking the time or dedicating
someone to conduct a
field or site environmental risk
assessment can help reduce
these risks and save you headaches,
time and money. Benefits
of assessing sites can result in
operational efficiencies, as well
as improve herd health,
riparian function, water quality
and public perception while
minimizing nuisances like
odours and flies.”
Completing a thorough site
risk assessment will identify if
any changes need to be made to
management practices at the
existing site or relocation of the
site itself is needed. By adopting
beneficial management practices
(BMPs), it may be possible
to mitigate or eliminate the
risks to the extent that relocation
may not be necessary.
“There are a variety of
resources and tools available to
help you identify which BMPs
to implement to manage and
site your temporary manure
storages or seasonal
feeding and
bedding sites to
minimize environmental
risks.
Turn to
Factors, Pg 15
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sometimes obscure road signs.
Councillors accepted the brushing
report as information.
Rodent control
In Beaumont’s regular report to the
board a topic was mentioned that is
being discussed in most farm and
ranching circles right now: rodent
control.
“We will have three products on
hand for the 2023 season, we will have
Rozol, Ground Force, and Ramik,”
noted Beaumont’s report. “These are
all multi-feed baits as that is our only
option now for Richardson Ground
Squirrel control.”
The federal government recently
banned strychnine, one of the most
popular rodent control poisons, partly
because Health Canada’s Pest
Management Regulatory Agency
claimed there was “...a lack of mitigation
measures to protect non-target
species.”
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Norland Apple 7 gal. 5-6’ $100
Poplar- 4 Varieties 2-20 gal. 3’-10’ $12-$125
Assiniboine Poplar – Fast growing shelterbelt tree
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