On March 22, the federal government announced it would develop such a strategy, calling it “an opportunity to discuss how we can address freshwater-related threats and opportunities,” protect freshwater ecosystems, and secure water for communities and the economy, according to a news release.

The Canada Water Agency, which was repurposed in 2024 as a stand-alone freshwater management agency separate from Environment and Climate Change Canada, will spearhead the strategy’s development.

While the announcement was scant on details of what such a strategy might look like, it said the agency will work with provinces and territories, First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners, “stakeholders across sectors” and the public.

Farmers should be among those consulted, the CFA said in a statement to Glacier FarmMedia.

“Water security is absolutely critical for the future of Canadian farmers. Farmers in different regions of Canada have been devastated by water issues over the past few years, such as the floods in B.C., or the ongoing long-term drought in the Prairie provinces,” a federation spokesperson said.

“A lack of water has severe negative impacts on any type of farm, no matter what they grow or raise.”

Prioritizing food security, agriculture

The strategy should protect farmers and mitigate the effects of water-related events. It should also secure predictable access to water so farmers can maintain food production — for example, through effective water management policies and investment in water infrastructure, CFA said.

“Farmers need to make it clear that food security and agriculture production should be prioritized if there was any issues with access to water.”

“Farmers are also on the front-line of climate change, dealing with the on-ground realities of water-related events,” CFA added. “They have experience and knowledge that will be critical in developing this strategy.”

While the announcement made no specific mention of the agriculture industry, the sector will have an opportunity to share its views during the public engagement process, “recognizing that freshwater is fundamental to our economy, powering industries, agriculture, and the growth of communities,” a federal spokesperson told Glacier FarmMedia.

The federal government has not yet set timelines for consultations, but said those will be announced “in the coming months.”

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“Fresh water has been facing challenges – challenges that are intensifying in large part due to climate change,” Guilbeault said at The Forks, where he announced the official launch of the Canada Water Agency (CWA) as a standalone federal entity.

The Canada Water Agency (CWA) will be headquartered in Winnipeg. The agency will work to advance Canada’s Freshwater Action Plan, which, according to Environment Canada’s website, was funded in the 2017 federal budget. This includes improving freshwater management through efforts to improved the water quality of Lake Winnipeg and other waterways throughout Canada.

The agency was formed via a bill in June and is funded with $85.1 million set aside in the 2023 federal budget.

This funding included $70.5 million allocated to the Great Lakes Protection Initiative and the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program (LWBP) over five years, from fiscal years 2017–2018 and 2021–2022.

Of this amount, $25.76 million was designated for the LWBP to advance initiatives focused on three key pillars: nutrient reduction to minimize effects like toxic and nuisance algae; collaborative governance; and collaboration with Indigenous groups.

The federal government also pledged $650 million to enable the Canada Water Agency to offer grants supporting projects focused on restoring and protecting water resources.

While Guilbeault acknowledged that fixing and protecting Canada’s water systems can’t be done alone and that the federal government will need to rely on its partners, he didn’t mention agricultural organizations.

The federal government didn’t immediately respond to questions about collaboration with agriculture groups.

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Providing accessible, affordable water systems to cattle producers is the goal for Derek Verhalst.

“We’ve been doing it for 35 years,” said the CEO of Kelln Solar.

Kelln Solar is a remote watering system company based out of Lumsden, Sask. While the company was originally created for the agricultural industry, they have expanded into work for cabins, lighting and small power solutions.

Verhalst said Kelln uses solar to power their products so they can be used anywhere.

“The price of getting power to a dugout, either doing it yourself or doing it through Sask Power… it’s cost prohibitive, and solar, it’s easy to set up easy to maintain,” he said.

Kelln Solar has two different lines of products – their winter water systems and summer water systems, designed for seasons outside of winter. In each line, there are many different products – submersible pump systems, a 500-gallon mobile trough and motion-controlled winter watering bowls.

Verhalst says producers who are considering which system to purchase should look at the needs of their own operation first.

“We pride ourselves in putting the producers in the right solution. So, what’s your water source? How many animals? How much lift do you have?” Verhalst says. “Then we’re sizing the system for what they need, instead of saying, ‘Oh, here’s a system that might work for you, or that will work,’ but it’s going to provide either way too much water costing them more money than they need it to, or it’s not going to provide enough water because we didn’t get enough details about their farm.”

Verhalst says they make sure they always have someone available to answer the phone and help producers troubleshoot whatever is wrong with their system.

“We’ll try and troubleshoot over the phone as much as possible before we ask you to send it in for repair,” Verhalst said. “We’ve got an extensive dealer network across Western Canada of primarily ranchers who use our products, sell our products and service our products, who are out there soliciting feedback and bringing it back to us. So our offerings continue to evolve to meet our producer’s needs.”

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When we talk about animal stress, most people think about animal handling when processing or shipping. Of course, we try to practice low-stress animal handling as much as we can. Most of the time when dealing with livestock, slow and steady gets the job done faster. But there are many other types of stress.

It is quite common here in Alberta to have cold stress in the winter. We hit -48 C (-54 F) last winter. When it gets below -30 C (-22 F), we make sure the cattle have plenty of bush available to help stop the wind and plenty of high-quality feed to help keep them warm. The herd needs to produce body heat and we don’t want the wind to blow it away. A trick I learned years ago was to feed in the late afternoon. Peak rumination will be in the middle of the night, creating rumen heat in the herd as they huddle together. A good fat layer and a nice hair coat also help with insulation. Tag on the hair coat reduces the insulation value of the hair. Fresh snow to lay in is also helpful as the snow acts as an insulator.

We don’t see it very often here in Alberta but we had to deal with quite a bit of heat stress this summer. It was the hottest summer I have ever seen here as we went above 40 C (104 F). We set new records for the number of days above 30 C (86 F). When it’s hot, we make sure the animals always have access to a bush paddock, even if we have to open up two or three paddocks to do so. Shade is very important to reduce heat stress. Lucky for us we have many treed areas.

One stress factor that I have rarely heard anyone talk about is water stress. One of the most important jobs on my ranch is to protect my riparian areas. When you get into regenerative grazing, one of the first things you do is protect your water sources by fencing and pumping water to a trough. Almost all of our water sources are fenced so that the animals are not allowed direct access to the riparian area (not all of our water bodies but for sure our water sources.) We see so many benefits from protecting riparian areas. Clean water, increased biodiversity, pest control, healthy animals, fewer treatments and beneficial insects are just a few of the positives.

One of the negatives is the risk of water stress. If you protect your water source, you need to provide water in some other manner. Maybe it is from a well, a pipeline, a solar system, a gravity-flow system, or maybe the water is pumped from the water source in some other manner. However you supply water, there is a risk of the system failing. If I put money into a water system, I would rather put more money into the most reliable system. Water stress has a huge effect on livestock gains. I believe it has just as much effect as the grazing management.

There are times when I have supplied water to a trough but not fenced off the water source. Usually, the livestock prefer to drink from the water trough. That is a simple option to avoid water stress but we lose many of the benefits to the riparian areas. I have also fenced off three sides of the water. This protects most of the edges but allows access to one side if need be. This still provides some of the riparian area management and reduces the water stress.

This summer was a perfect example of potential water stress. The extreme heat alone can cause water stress. The hotter it is, the more water the livestock need. As fast as the pump can pump, there is still a lineup midday for water. If possible, I would always recommend extra storage capacity and plenty of bunk space to accommodate those hot days. The trough needs to fill faster than the herd can drink. When I heard how hot it was going to be this July, I set up a second system and a second trough for my big herd in advance. Even with the best of systems, we plan for a water system failure.

I always have a backup plan ready, just in case. This summer, because of the drought, our main issue was a lack of water in our dugouts. We rely on spring snowmelt to fill water bodies and we did not get much this spring. So far we have completely emptied about six water sources but I was a boy scout. The motto is “always be prepared.”

In these situations, solar systems will start to fail. Later in the season, the water levels are lower, the animals are needing more as they are growing and the day length is getting shorter. This is a recipe for disaster. I already have extra solar modules ready or a generator on standby to help supplement the solar with a sump pump and/or also help charge the batteries. If you show up midday and let the generator run for a few hours, it will take the extra stress off the solar system. This year, many of the water sources were just too low for the solar and we switched entirely to the generator.

My gravity flow systems are my most reliable systems normally, but I keep a close eye on water levels in dry years. If my dugouts run dry, my gravity flow systems stop working. I had two run dry on me this season, but I caught them right away and already had a plan to open another paddock to allow access to a second water system. I would rather graze a paddock or two improperly than water-stress my herds.

If you have ever had a water system failure, you know it can be a shoving match around the trough when you start the pump again. The best tool I have to reduce stress around the water trough is to open a new paddock of grass. Most of the herd will head to the fresh grass and then come back slowly to drink. A distraction is usually all that is needed.

These are several examples of livestock stress and ways of managing it. I just bring them up to get you thinking about it. Are there things you can change or plan for to help reduce stress for the livestock and, of course, stress on you? You know the saying, “A happy rancher is a healthy rancher.”

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The provincial government on Tuesday announced the creation of two advisory boards: a policy development board and technical review board.

Specific members haven’t yet been named to either board, but the province said the policy advisory board will include members from Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), the Western Canadian Wheat Growers, the Saskatchewan Farm Stewardship Association and the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commissions (SaskCanola).

The policy board will also include members from the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), the Saskatchewan Conservation and Development Association and Ducks Unlimited Canada, the province said.

The technical review board, meanwhile, is to be made up of experts with backgrounds in water management, engineering and hydrology, the province said.

If a drainage project’s “proponent” believes a technical error has occurred, the province said, he/she/they can provide information to the technical board and ask for a review.

“For example, if there is a question on the adequacy of an outlet, this board would review it and provide technical advice.”

The creation of the two advisory boards comes as the provincial Water Security Agency Amendment Act, introduced in November, passes third reading in the legislature, the government said Tuesday.

The amendments lay out a new process to deal with unauthorized drainage on Saskatchewan farmland.

“Our government’s goal is to create responsibly-managed agricultural drainage networks focused on controlling and organizing water management in the province,” Scott Moe, the provincial minister for the WSA, said in a release Tuesday.

“This will ensure mitigation of impacts to downstream landowners while continuing to provide benefits to producers. The advisory boards will provide input and advice on agricultural water management policies as we move forward with the strategy.”

The WSA is now working with “hundreds” of Saskatchewan landowners on organized drainage projects covering over 160,000 acres, the province said. –– AGCanada.com Network

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The BPBA’s Six Streams Initiative focuses on three sources of pollution: cattle drinking in creeks, soil erosion and underperforming septic systems.

In two very busy years the association has already installed 47 off-stream solar-powered watering systems plus related projects such as fencing to keep cattle out of creeks, restore vegetation along stream banks and improve wetlands, says BPBA director John Rodgers, who farms in the Municipality of Northern Bruce and teaches high school science.

Rodgers hasn’t had cattle since 2012, but he was drawn to the Six Streams Initiative by the benefits he’s seen from centralized water systems installed around the district in recent years.

“The health improvement, no sore eyes, no sore feet and improvement in water quality are pretty beneficial,” he says.

Beef production on the peninsula was exclusively cow-calf and backgrounding operations right into the 1990s when the Wiarton Feeder Sale was the first big sale of the fall in Ontario and a bellwether for prices during the rest of the fall run. Cash cropping has increased in the past five to seven years, although the north end of the peninsula is still a relatively large cow-calf area and Bruce County is still one of the foremost beef-feeding areas in the province.

Neils Munk, BPBA’s Six Streams project manager, says the project’s land area is fairly small, but home to 15 larger beef farms that run about 5,000 head between them. Projects are located on five of the streams with the sixth serving as a control. Initial inspection and water quality sampling was carried out beforehand using $2,750 seed money from the Lake Huron-Georgian Bay Framework for Community Action. A $25,000 grant from the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund for volunteer-based restoration projects helped get things rolling and provincial and federal environment departments have contributed more than $450,000 to date.

“Most of the project areas are remote, long-term pasture sites so the watering systems were designed to be permanent off-grid fixtures,” says Munk.

First, a stream-side well was constructed with a gravel-filled channel to draw water from the stream. A submersible pump in the well forces the water through a buried pipe into a heavy precast concrete trough set on drainage stone and surrounded with a layer of crushed stone for durability. The pump is powered by all-weather batteries charged by a solar panel with a charge-control system. A water-level sensor in the trough activates the pump when cattle drink.

Munk says the needs of each operation are taken into consideration and he works with the producers to improve the practical aspects of each layout.

The main adjustments so far have been the replacement of the square trough with a round one that has lower sides so it is easier for calves to reach the water, installing magnetic float switches that quickly activate the pump to keep up with the demands of the cattle, and armouring the electrical components to protect them from the cattle.

The cost is running around $6,500 for the trough, well tiles, pump, solar panel, batteries, all-weather containment, plus any excavation and installation. Extras might include erosion control earthworks, fencing, and seeding disturbed areas depending on the site.

BPBA pays for the components and installation and the farmers get involved in the planning, installation and any additional fencing as needed. Winterizing the systems was getting underway as cattle were coming off the pastures in mid-October.

A new project this summer involved the installation of drainage level control structures near the main outlets of tile drains in fields. These agri-drains are inline standpipes with flow barriers inside that the producer can raise or lower to control drainage from the field.

This gives them the flexibility to open it up for full drainage in spring so they can plant earlier in wet years and restrict drainage in the summer when moisture may be in short supply.

“Keeping more water in the field may improve growing conditions and provide water to local streams through dry periods,” Munk says.

Farmer co-operation with the water pro­jects has been great and response to the three agri-drains they’ve installed so far has been positive, says BPBA chair Elizabeth Thorn.

Part of the rationale supporting this work is the fact it helps retain more nutrients in fields and pastures where they’re needed rather than washing them into the streams where they can cause harm.

Nutrient reduction in streams ultimately leads to cleaner rivers and, “whatever happens to our rivers will happen in our Great Lakes,” says Thorn.

Linked to the Six Stream project is a science component that trains interested volunteers as certified water testers.

“We’ve just completed our third year of testing and are seeing some positive trends, like a drop in the phosphorus level. I’m told one year isn’t a trend because water flow is extremely variable from year to year, but still it is a positive result,” Thorn says.

This year they’ve added caffeine to the list of items they test for as a way to distinguish underperforming septic systems in cottage country from farm nutrients in their water samples.

For more details visit bpba.ca.

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The three-year old management plan for the Murray-Darling basin, an area twice the size of Spain and home to 40 per cent of Australia’s agricultural output, has been lauded internationally and suggested as a guide for drought-hit California.

Forged in the wake of a ruinous 14-year drought, the scheme set up a market-based water trading system, improved co-operation across state borders and focused on efficient water usage.

“All of these lessons are appropriate to the United States,” said water policy expert Professor David Feldman of the University of California, Irvine, where the state is suffering from a four-year dry spell that has threatened agriculture and helped fan severe wildfires this summer.

Australia’s Murray-Darling basin encompasses two major river systems in Australia’s southeast, but years of siphoning off water to irrigate crops has devastated waterways, creating dried-out wetlands and acidic soils, toxic algal blooms that threaten animal and human health, and high levels of salinity.

A 2012 water management plan instituted a raft of water-saving measures, and set up a market-based system where farmers who have been allocated water rights under decades-old systems can trade their entitlements.

Under the scheme, the government buys water to keep the river healthy, farmers can buy water to irrigate crops in lean years or during the hot summer season, and investors are also welcome.

Drought pressure

But changes to the Australian plan amid a resurgent El Nino weather pattern have worried environmentalists who say its reputation and credibility are now at risk.

The plan initially met little resistance in rural areas, but dry weather this year has depleted some dams that store river water, forcing farmers to accept big cuts in their water entitlements.

The loss is particularly hard for summer crops that rely heavily on irrigation like cotton, rice and sorghum. Australia is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of cotton.

Cotton accounts for about A$2 billion (C$1.9 billion) in export earnings, or about seven per cent of total crop earnings, and production is forecast to fall nearly 10 per cent in the year to the end of June 2016 from last year’s five-year low.

While the dry weather is hastening a shift from water-intensive crops like cotton and rice, it has also sparked calls for changes to the management plan as farmers say too much water is being used for the environment.

While farmers can buy water on market, prices have jumped sharply to more than A$200 (C$190) a megalitre in some regions — well in excess of viable limits for many, who argue that having to compete with the government has driven up prices.

Caps and oversight

Australian lawmakers last week nearly halved the amount of water the government can buy from local farmers, instead giving farmers subsidies to save water that would then be available for sale.

Environmentalists and some academics question the changes, which the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says will cost up to five times the market rate of buying water, while there is also a physical limit on how much can be saved.

This week, the government transferred management of Australia’s water resources from the Department of the Environment to the Department of Agriculture, a move long sought by rural bodies.

“It introduces a remarkable conflict of interest between a minister whose job it is to promote the agricultural industry and now under this arrangement, a minister who will be responsible for securing the health of water resources that are used by that industry,” said ACF campaigner Jonathan La Nauze.

Academics say the scheme has had some success in improving the health of the river system, and will survive in its basic form given the importance of the basin to all water users.

“Any tinkering will be at the edges and not the core,” said Willem Vervoort, associate professor in hydrology and catchment management, the University of Sydney. “If the water quality keeps deteriorating then the irrigators are out of business. In the end, the irrigators have a stake in the environment too.”

The University of California’s Feldman said legal and political differences would make it difficult to implement parts of the Australian system in the U.S., where water rights remain linked to property rights.

However, the lessons for California included overcoming the fragmented authority for water management and getting public buy-in on how to best save and use water, he said.

— Colin Packham is a commodities correspondent for Reuters in Sydney.

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If I acquire a new piece of land that requires some water development, I first look to see if I can set up a dam to support gravity flow. I look for an area where the snowmelt or rainfall runs off with relatively high volume. If I can find a suitable location, I hire a backhoe to come in and dam up an area to hold back water. It is much cheaper to dam up an area than it is to dig a dugout.

I never want to see a dugout, or a dam, at the bottom of the hill; which is where most people place them. If you place it partway up the hill, with an area downhill for the trough, it will allow for a gravity flow. Make sure that when you make your dam, the overflow point will not wash it away. This requires the overflow point to be on solid undisturbed clay, or for a culvert to be installed at the top of your dam to allow for overflow. Once the dam is constructed and you have it full from run-off, the operation is quite simple.

• From the Manitoba Co-operator: Summer is the time to keep an eye out for water deprivation

If you follow along with me on the illustration you might actually make sense of this (see below). The top of the water line, or inlet, is fitted with a screen, a float and a weight, which allows it to float about a foot or two under the surface. Be careful that the inlet is never allowed to suck air or you will lose your siphon. As the season progresses and your water level drops, your inlet stays just under the surface. The water line then goes up over the dam and down to the water trough. Here the float valve restricts the flow when the trough is full.

Warning!!! Make sure you have a well-mounted trough and a protected float valve. If the trough is moved or the float valve is broken, it can cause the trough to overflow and you can empty your dugout in a weekend. Been there, done that!

Also, if your float gets a hole in it and does not float so well anymore, there goes your water. My advice is to fill the float with mono-foam. I should say half fill it with mono-foam. I dare you to try to fill it right up. This way it will always float, even if a black bear chews holes in it.

In the spring I use one of my gas-powered pumps to prime the siphon. I have found that a simple plastic shutoff valve at the inlet of the pipe turns this into a one-person job. Remove the inlet screen and attach the pump ensuring that the shutoff valve is still on the hose. Open the valve. Turn on the pump to fill the water line and push out all of the air. Now as you shut off the pump, close the valve on the line at the same time. This will allow you to remove the inlet from the pump, reattach the screen and place it in the water without losing the siphon (like plugging the top end of a drinking straw so the juice does not flow out). Open the valve again as you place the inlet back into the water. Without the valve it is a mad scramble to get the hose into the water and then to attach the screen under water, which almost always causes air pockets that are hard to get out. Alternatively, you could have someone hold the float valve at the trough closed while you reattach the screen (plug the bottom end of the straw). Then open the valve and let your siphon flow. And you’re done! Your new gravity-flow system is at work. If it is set up right, it will be worry free all summer.

The turkey’s nest is another version of a gravity flow for when you don’t have any elevation to work with.

In my area, every quarter of land pretty much has a dugout on it somewhere. Usually when you need to make a dugout, you bring in a track hoe and dig a hole in the ground that usually leaves you with a big pile of clay next to your water source. At a couple of sites I have used this clay pile as a storage tank, or a turkey’s nest.

I get the hoe operator to hollow out the middle of the pile and then line it with silage plastic. This gives you an elevated water reserve to siphon out of. I also recommend putting a page wire fence around it to protect the plastic from wildlife. Once the turkey’s nest is built, the operation is simple.

I run two separate water systems. The first one uses a gas-powered pump to fill the turkey’s nest. You need an inlet hose with a screen, float and weight, and then a discharge hose pumping into the nest. Depending on the size of the nest, I usually just estimate the amount of fuel needed to fill the nest, then I start the pump and walk away. I like to have a three- or four-day supply of water in the nest and I always make sure that the overflow point on the nest allows the water to drain back into the dugout.

When the nest is full I then set up a separate gravity-flow system to a trough with a float valve. To prime the siphon, it is easier to remove the end of the siphon hose at the trough and haul it over to the pump. Connect it and pump water backwards up into the nest. When the hose is full shut off the pump, disconnect and return the end to the trough. The siphon keeps flowing as the bottom end is disconnected and the inlet remains in the nest under water. The key to this system is never let your nest run dry as you will lose your siphon. The main difficulty with this set up is protecting your plastic liner. I have had to replace one a couple times now.

Both of these systems are relatively inexpensive and mostly worry free. When you have five different grazing cells with 26 different watering sites, “cheap, easy and reliable” is a welcome thought.

“Like” us on Facebook at Greener Pastures Ranching for more tricks and tips on water systems.

Steve Kenyon runs Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. in Busby, Alta., www.greenerpasturesranching.com, 780-307-6500, email skenyon@greenerpasturesranching.com or find them on Facebook.

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