Clean farming, clean water

by Lynn Haley

Canadian food products travel the world on a passport of fresh air, clean water and rich soils. What happens when the bubble bursts? Fingers start pointing – in every direction water flows and the agriculture and food industry is no exception.

“There’s no mystery about the relationship between agriculture and water,” says Jim Turner, rancher, and chair of the Alberta Cattle Commission. Like any natural resource industry, agriculture has to invest in the inputs that sustain us. “We have the potential to impact water quality and supply,” he says. “So we have to be accountable for our management practices.”

That impact ripples into homes, businesses and recreational water use. But, eventually, it flows back to the farmers and ranchers whose businesses depend on water availability and quality. If they don’t look after it, they could lose those businesses. It’s one reason Alberta’s farmers are taking a closer look at how they impact water quality, and are taking steps to ensure they are accountable.

Programs like AESA (Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture), which monitors surface water quality in 23 watersheds representing low, medium, and intensive agriculture, and the Cows and Fish program are just some of the ways producers are tackling water quality.

So far, participation is voluntary. Ranchers like Turner think that’s the way it should be. “Like any good business, we have to keep a sharp eye on the future. We can’t afford complacency. Without quality water, Alberta’s livestock industry would perish.”

Water runs downhill

Riparian land is not a term many of us are familiar with. And, while it only represents 2% of all the land in Alberta, it plays an incredibly important role in our quality of life. Intrigued?

Riparian land is defined as the zones around streams, rivers, wetlands and sloughs. Healthy riparian land is chock full of willows and other deeprooted plants that create effective stream banks, sound watersheds, and a welcome environment for fish, birds and Alberta wildlife.

“Riparian zones bind us together because we’re all downstream water drinkers,” says Lorne Fitch, a provincial riparian specialist with Alberta Environment. “Good riparian areas manage water flow, prevent flooding and filter out many contaminants. That 2% of riparian land creates a big ripple. Well managed, it means Albertans can count on quality water for consumption, recreation, irrigation and industrial use.”

Cows and Fish? More intrigue…

Cows and Fish is a program committed to improving the health of Alberta’s riparian land by sharing information with producers and communities about ways to restore or maintain natural systems.

The odd name comes from the way the program started in 1990 when, at loggerheads about the impact of grazing practices on fishing sites, a group of progressive ranchers and trout fishermen met around the kitchen table at a southern Alberta ranch.  Determined to forge an amicable relationship, the ranchers talked about simple changes to grazing and land management techniques they were starting to make. The trout folks shared their passion for fishing, wildlife preservation and recreational water use.

The conversation ended in a handshake deal to share knowledge with other producers about ways to improve riparian land and Cows and Fish was, ahem, spawned.  Ten years later, hundreds of producers have latched onto the program and Cows and Fish has evolved into a collaboration of partners – all of whom contribute resources and technical expertise. They are Trout Unlimited Canada, the Alberta Cattle Commission and Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Alberta Environment, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA).

Cows and Fish shares information through educational materials, workshops, demonstrations, stream assessments and individualized riparian management plans. Despite the formalization and the involvement of many partners, government and otherwise, Cows and Fish stays firmly anchored in its commitment to one-on-one communication.

“From day one, Cows and Fish has focused on simple changes that make a big impact over time,” says Greg Hale, Cows and Fish provincial co-ordinator.

Several ranching families share knowledge by maintaining working demonstration sites, raising awareness and sharing their own experiences. The program connects with close to 7,000 people each year. It’s producer-to-producer, community-to-community and clearly, it’s working.

“We’ve stumbled on a unique blend of scientific research and good old-fashioned producer wisdom,” says Fitch. “Together, they create a rich body of knowledge about how watersheds work, the vital signs of landscape health, and how people and communities can work together to create solutions.”

The whole landscape

Cows and Fish started as a project to improve riparian health through changes in grazing management techniques. These efforts earned the program an Emerald Award for Environmental Leadership. Today, the program is integrated with whole landscape planning, and it’s about to expand in a major way through a CARD environmental program grant from the Agriculture and Food Council. Best of all, the Cows and Fish template is being adapted in communities across North America.

“With producers, we’re developing a vision for the care and sustainability of their entire operation,” says Hale. “With the support of our partners, we’re building ecologically resilient communities across Alberta.”

Cows and ducks can co-exist

Forget the dollars and cents of environmental initiatives. Ducks Unlimited Canada measures its success in terms of ducks and geese. And when it comes to protecting and improving wetland habitat in southern Alberta, the not-for-profit organization says two of its key achievements exist thanks to the cooperation of two of Alberta’s largest beef processors, Lakeside/IBP at Brooks and Cargill Ltd. at High River.

Both beef processors have helped Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) establish critical wetland habitats. The Cutting Lakes project at Lakeside/IBP near Brooks, begun in 1981, transformed a low-lying marsh into a pond that will support some 10,400 ducks and 1,200 geese over a 20-year period, says Jay Bartsch, district manager, DUC.

“The water is supplied by the Eastern Irrigation District. It’s water that’s been used to irrigate crops and it’s on its way back to the river,” explains Bartsch. “By holding it on Lakeside’s property a little longer, we gain a substantial benefit for waterfowl.”

A mutual benefit

From where he sits as president of Lakeside/ IBP, the benefit is mutual, says Garnet Altwasser. While the Cutting Lakes water is no longer used for feedlot cattle, it is a secure back-up supply for the operation.  More important, on a day-to-day basis, is the fact that Cutting Lakes “enhances wildlife habitat without having a negative impact on the economics of the operation. Anytime we see a project with this kind of synergistic effect, we’re of a mind to participate,” says Altwasser.

“Every one of our projects in southern Alberta has this same multi-use component in that they benefit wildlife and agriculture,” adds Bartsch.

DUC’s wetland conservation project at Frank Lake, near High River, began in 1989. It created another highly-productive marsh and an important staging area for waterfowl winging north in the spring.  On the agricultural front, Frank Lake is used as an alternate site to dispose of, and naturally treat, waste water from Cargill and the Town of High River. The nitrates and phosphates from the beef plant and town break down especially fast in the summer heat, notes Bartsch.  A DUC summary of the project notes that in addition to wetland restoration, the Frank Lake project has improved flood management, stock water and waste water reuse and storage.

Back at Lakeside/IBP, waste water is stored in evaporation ponds so none of it enters the Cutting Lakes wetland. All Lakeside waste water is recycled by pumping onto irrigated land, growing silage from wheat, barley, alfalfa and corn. The silage is then fed back to cattle, explains Altwasser.

“While Ducks Unlimited covers all capital costs associated with wetland conservation projects, companies like Lakeside and Cargill have been tremendous financial supporters of our fund-raising activities,” notes Bartsch. Cargill, for instance, funded an interpretive center bird-watching blind at Frank Lake.

“Our other key DUC projects in southern Alberta typically involve irrigation districts. We have about 38,000 acres of wetland in the Eastern Irrigation District alone. That’s significant when you consider what this region would be like without those wetlands.”