| | From AESA Council’s Chair
by John Kolk
Poultry Industry Council
After attending the Confronting Water Scarcity conference at the University of Lethbridge this past summer, I read Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource by Marq De Villiers. That book along with Dr. Hans Schreier’s speech at the recent Agricultural Service Board conference reinforced the overwhelming issues we are facing in managing, protecting and wisely using our water resources in the agricultural community.
Six years ago, the Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture (AESA) Council set in motion a shift from a soil focus to a water focus in our programming. Although Council recognized that all four key areas – air, water, soil and biodiversity – are interrelated, it felt that water-related concerns needed priority attention. The environmental issues in Alberta over the past six years have emphasized the foresight of that decision.
Water allocation, quality, quantity, location and management are key issues in western North America. Albertans’ deep commitment to our natural resources is reflected in the fact that as a province we have engaged in a deliberate process to address water issues before we are in a crisis. The development of the Water for Life strategy recognized that water issues have to be considered in a 20- to 50-year time frame and addressed comprehensively with input from all stakeholders. The recent droughts have underlined the crucial importance of water to Alberta’s agricultural community. We will have to continue to provide leadership as the other sectors and urban Albertans come to that same realization.
Climate change, urban demand, industrial use and in-flow stream needs are affecting the quantity and quality of the water available for food production. The collision of values, changing expectations, and growing demands around water seem overwhelming. The agricultural community, in part due to AESA’s leadership, has been addressing these challenges and will need to continue to direct resources to our piece of the solutions.
While it is important that we grasp the large trends, improvements only occur when we get to work in our own backyards. Across the province, watershed groups composed of producers and others in the community are working to protect the health of their creeks. For instance, in August, AESA Council toured sites in the Pincher Creek area where AESA-supported partnerships are making a real difference.
I toured a local dairy farm recently and was impressed by the recent barn renovations. The producer, not known for his environmental sensitivities, proudly displayed a number of water conservation features in his milk cooling system. He had installed a plate cooler, which uses water to pre-cool the milk, and then the warmed-up water is directed to the drinking trough for the cows. He’s also using the grey wash water to flush the manure in the holding areas. He conceded that these features cost more to install, but would pay off in lower energy consumption and manure hauling costs, while saving water.
Actions like this convince me that, while we have more work to do, farmers are adapting to improve the environment. Extension efforts, awareness building, monitoring and individual actions are combining to address the challenges. This issue of Green Matters is focused on keeping up that momentum. |
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