Arm River Farms Demonstration Project
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.”
Involving neighbours affected by any changes in water flows is part of the WSA drainage approval process. Arm River Farms has demonstrated this over the years, most recently in an agricultural water management (AWM) demonstration project to enhance drainage and maintain more wetlands.
“WSA were very, very helpful. When we decided to do a project like this, the first thing, we phoned them up and they came out. We met them; we went in the field. We sat down and assessed and evaluated the area where the project is going to be.”
Participation by the Rural Municipality (RM) is critical to this AWM project. The QP was there to coordinate with RM officials, fill out required forms, visually document the areas impacted by the project and provide other information. Such details were handled “before we even started to do one thing,” Hofer recalled.
Securing wildlife habitat is integral to AWM projects that drain water from sloughs and basins. On the advice of the WSA, Arm River Farms left sloughs with about two feet untouched “for the wildlife, the moose, the deer, the ducks and the geese.”
Dr. Paul James, a biologist with the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF), observed that mitigated wetlands appear to retain most wildlife species expected in less disturbed areas. “Most developed wetlands were very small, while the more species-rich, larger wetlands were retained as mitigation.”
The SWF “believes that farming and wetlands can coexist over the long term” and Hoffer sees proof of that every day in his fields.