Irrigation Conference Looks To The Future

The Saskatchewan Irrigation Conference was held this week in Moose Jaw.

 

Warren Helgason, an Associate Professor in Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan told the group that based on current climate projections we are going to have a warmer climate.

 

He says that means more 30 degree days, which means agriculture is likely going to change; so it’s important to invest the time now to identify how reliable our water supplies are going to be in the future.

 

“Irrigation as a means to sort of alleviate that and secure sustainable food production is going to be an important thing I think. We've heard other people talk about what other areas in the world where declining groundwater resources example, you know, there are putting pressures on other food growing areas of the world. So we have an opportunity here, provided that we have a sustainable water supply system to grow a lot of that food.”

 

For years irrigators have been calling on the Federal and Provincial Government to invest in the industry.

 

The Province included the goal of expanding irrigation in their New Growth Plan identifying the need to support irrigation district infill development to add 85,000 new irrigation acres; as well as pursuing efforts to attract private sector investment for additional irrigation development.

 

Aaron Grey is Chair of the Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association and is pleased with the news.

 

“We need some sort of major infrastructure project I'm assuming to somehow obtain 85,000 acres by 2030. So, the only projects I can foresee is potentially the Qu’Appelle South or the West side.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.