Sask Irrigation project

[newguy]

Well I doubt the intention is to grow more cereals and canola. Or atleast it shouldn't be. Once you have enough acres then maybe vegetables, more spuds for processing, and other specialties will be promoted.

Whatever shows the fastest profit will be grown and flood the market.Grain companies will love not to worry about a steady supply of commodities.

[fjlip]

Spuds were tried, "Spudco", we are TOO short a growing season. Cost Sk taxpayers millions!

[TASFarms]

I don’t think the season is too short. Spudco had to much govt involvement?
the little potatoes are pulled out in July.

[bucket]

Well I doubt the intention is to grow more cereals and canola. Or atleast it shouldn't be. Once you have enough acres then maybe vegetables, more spuds for processing, and other specialties will be promoted.

Sadly the statistics show in Saskatchewan that only 5% of the irrigated acres are in something other than traditional dryland crops.

With a declining cattle herd and the infrastructure in Alberta to feed and process beef. I doubt Saskatchewan can make a business case for it. FFS Brad Wall allowed the former Canada Packers plant to be decommissioned only to have government money needed to resurrect it as a sow plant. Brad has finally learnt what a cow is. Maybe he can see the errors of his ways although he made every cattleman go through the auction houses to sell cull cows.

How can anyone with half a brain make an announcement one day giving 30 year old project additional funding and then the next day announce a project that will go to zero and still need funding.

While all the cheerleaders boast this project, I wonder how many know what the original cost of the Riverhurst and Luck Lake project were during the Devine years and that they were transferred for a dollar to those districts. Where is the GDP of running those 100million projects to zero for the taxpayer return?

And the same phucking thing will happen with this project. Bigshots will come along and get government money to set something up and MLAs will pocket some money but eventually this billion dollars will go to zero to get it off the books of government while they continue to throw money at it. story has been written.

Meanwhile the majority of the production and farmers and ranchers will get shitty programs and zero support.

And farm groups will continue with their pompoms, hoping to grab a MLA job when the other collect their paper bags and ride off.

[newguy]

If the government wanted to help all farmers equally and increase production .they could invest in all farmers having access to cheaper fertilizer .Even in the bad years sask is diverse enough it is unusual for the whole province to have a crop failure.

[bucket]

Spuds were tried, "Spudco", we are TOO short a growing season. Cost Sk taxpayers millions!

And those potato barns were sold for 10 cents on the dollar.

[bucket]

If the government wanted to help all farmers equally and increase production .they could invest in all farmers having access to cheaper fertilizer .Even in the bad years sask is diverse enough it is unusual for the whole province to have a crop failure.

Saskatchewan has a fertilizer plant but they sold it off and allowed Yara to price off NOLA.

While most of the fertilizer never makes it more than 350 miles from Belle Plaine.

[bucket]

Another thing most of the cheerleaders don't notice is these communities have shrunk since the project came along. Riverhurst used to have 3 elevators , a rail line , school, restaurant year round. All gone, wouldn't call that an economic driver when production increased by not only water but different farming practices on dryland and yet the closest elevator still closed.

No primary highway was built to account for higher production and lack of rail line.

The phrases used to justify this project just don't hold water.

[megrizzly]

Can't forget the Clean Technology Program aka "new dryer program" when discussing the use of government funds to benefit only a few farms. Only 48 projects in Saskatchewan are approved, but it sure seems like several shot for the moon since the government is paying 40%.

The approved projects are here:
[url]https://www.canada.ca/en/agriculture-agri-food/news/2022/02/the-government-of-canada-invests-in-clean-technology-to-support-sustainable-farming-practices.html#dataset-filter[/url]

[wmoebis]

Not sure why he is saying he isn't waiting for the Feds? Seems they invested in 2020. [url]https://www.producer.com/news/prairies-to-be-biggest-winners-of-federal-infrastructure-money/[/url] Or is that $ gone already?

[furrowtickler]

It’s too bad the whole irrigation area around Definbaker never did established 40 years ago .
When one sees the amount of wealth generated in the Medicine Hat to Lethbridge irrigation corridor , it’s been a huge lost opportunity even if a bit farther north , that area still has enough heat units and frost free days it could have been worthwhile probably .

[AlbertaFarmer5]

If the government wanted to help all farmers equally and increase production .they could invest in all farmers having access to cheaper fertilizer .Even in the bad years sask is diverse enough it is unusual for the whole province to have a crop failure.

How far do you want to take this idea? Since Sask also exports grain and livestock, should government ensure that consumers have access to cheap food? Would you accomplish this by having government own the production? By price controls? By subsidizing the consumers?

[wmoebis]

If the government wanted to help all farmers equally and increase production .they could invest in all farmers having access to cheaper fertilizer .Even in the bad years sask is diverse enough it is unusual for the whole province to have a crop failure.

Wasn't there farmers that wanted to invest in Fertilizer production at one time? Even wanted to take over after the CWB was gone. Farmers could have been controlling inputs and sales at same time why didn't that happen?

[newguy]

How far do you want to take this idea? Since Sask also exports grain and livestock, should government ensure that consumers have access to cheap food? Would you accomplish this by having government own the production? By price controls? By subsidizing the consumers?

Personally governments should stay out of consumer subsidies.Farmers buy and sell on supply and demand and subsides just puts an artificial price on things.What they propose is just flat out unfair to the majority of Sask farmers. Moe math at its best.4 billion spent and thousands of new jobs they say.But where will all these people get health care and education I say.

[zeefarmer]

I'd be curious as to which farmers are benefitting from the expansion, and even which politicians. A large irrigation expansion has been proposed on Duncairn Dam (SW of Swift Current), with Monette's behind it. The whole thing smells a little off as there hasn't been any new irrigation since the early 80's and now all of a sudden there's capacity for 60+ pivots??