Private Water Supplies: A Little Testing Goes A Long Way

source: Farm and Food Report

We are cautious about drinking tap water while visiting developing countries. Yet at home with our private water supplies, we can sometimes be a little lax about applying the same care and consideration. Just because the water tastes okay does not necessarily mean it’s safe to drink.

Nolan Shaheen is Director of Groundwater Management for the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. “Anyone with a private water supply that is being used as a drinking water source should have the water tested for health-related parameters such as nitrates, fecal coliforms, heavy metals such as arsenic, uranium and selenium, and major ions like sulphates, potassium, bicarbonates, calcium, magnesium, sodium and chlorides. Water should also be tested for hardness, especially if it is used for agricultural purposes. For instance, if you use herbicides like glyphosates, the hardness of the water can affect performance.”

“Many heavy metals occur naturally, and toxicity will vary according to concentrations and quantity consumed,” Shaheen explains. “We encourage you to consult health professionals to find out more about how these levels relate to the Provincial Drinking Water Guidelines, which are set to protect human health. As you can imagine, high concentrations could have some health-related effects. Consumers who draw water from wells that yield higher concentrations might want to consider drinking bottled water and using their well water for purposes other than drinking.”

Nitrates are another parameter that requires care and attention. Although they can occur naturally in the environment, the presence of nitrates is often associated with improper management of sewage or over-application of fertilizers.

Bacteriological testing should be carried out, as well as testing for iron and manganese, two metals that are commonly found in higher concentrations in Saskatchewan water supplies.

“Some parameters will only affect taste and colour, as in the case of iron which will stain laundry and impart a metallic taste to the water, but it will not harm you. That is what we refer to as more of an aesthetic consideration. In the case of other parameters, consequences can be much more serious,” says Shaheen.

Private water supplies’ stewards have a few options for testing. They can access one of a number of private labs in the province. There is a provincial health laboratory in Regina. The Saskatchewan Research Council has its own lab in Saskatoon. Any of Saskatchewan’s Health Districts will be able to provide a hand-sized water sample container.

“If you collect your own sample, due care and attention should be given to preventing sample contamination,” says Shaheen. “For instance, touching the inside of the container with your fingers could ruin the bacteriological component of the test.”

And remember, most water can be treated, and there are always a number of options to address unsafe water challenges. The first step, of course, is to be aware of the water’s quality.

For more information, contact:

Nolan Shaheen
Director, Groundwater Management
SaskatchewanWatershed Authority
(306) 694-3963

Dr. Joanne Sketchell
Manager, Water Quality Unit
Saskatchewan Watershed Authority
(306) 933-7434

Tired Of Wading Out Into Your Sloughs To Pound Pickets Into The Mud?

source: Farm and Food Report

It is one of these small challenges Punnichy’s Schlosser family had been wrestling with for years: how to lay fence across sloughs without getting wet and covered in mud?

According to Kevin Schlosser, “this is something everyone dreads in the spring — venturing out there in boots or hip waders to fix fence and realizing that they are not quite high enough to keep you dry. If you have a slough you must lay fence across, posts rot, wires rust out. It is a problem that just doesn’t go away. What if we could actually come up with posts that float?”

Kevin, his brother Dan, their father and mother went to work on this eight months ago, after many years of accumulated frustration. Easier said than done. Coming up with fencing structures that are buoyant, yet stable enough to prevent tipping in high winds, requires all the patience in the world.

“There was a lot of experimentation involved,” explains Kevin Schlosser. “We figured that the base would have to be made with urethane foam, but designing the shape the moulds should have was very much a trial and error process. We came up with several widths into which a fibreglass rod would be inserted, to which different types of fencing tapes and wires would be attached, using regular fencing clips. Then we took our prototypes to the sloughs to test them.”

Eventually, they found the right configuration. They launched a company: Jaddak Creations Inc. They prepared a business plan with the help of Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization. The Schlosser family came up with a name for their product: they call them Slough Sticks. They even went through the patent process, successfully.

“I can’t believe no one had thought about it before,” Schlosser says. “The idea is to actually lay the fence and posts in the winter when the sloughs are frozen. It is much easier. We recommend a maximum distance of six meters between posts for increased stability. When the ice melts in the spring, the floating fence posts just float in their position on the water, and they’ll freeze in the same spot the following winter. It really is a low maintenance solution to a perennial headache.”

The company recently acquired the old Punnichy community theatre and town hall to manufacture their product, which should hit the market at any time.

“Right now, we are working with the local Co-op store. We went around to show our product. The posts will be made available on pallets for shipping and sales purposes. Other potential distributors across Canada have also expressed interest. This is all pretty exciting for us,” Schlosser says.

Apparently, the local population is just as interested in what the Schlossers are working on.

“There isn’t a day that goes by when we don’t to go to the local hardware store to pick up one thing or another. People are always asking us what we are up to. I was born and raised in Punnichy,” says Kevin Schlosser, “and there used to be five restaurants in town. Like many, I had to move away for a few years, but I’m really glad to be back now. Just looking at people’s expressions, you get a sense they are thinking that perhaps there is a future for Punnichy.”

If fencing through water can be made easier, it may be that anything is possible, after all, in a small town where creativity is allowed free expression.

For more information, contact:

Kevin Schlosser
Jaddak Creations Inc.
(403) 852-1510

Crop Production Week Is An Opportunity For Renewal

source: Farm and Food Report

The next edition of Crop Production Week, January 10 to 15 in Saskatoon, could take on some therapeutic virtues for many in the industry who will want to forget about last year’s crop performances.

Ray McVicar is Special Crops Provincial Specialist for SAFRR. “It is an opportunity to start fresh. Crop Production Week and the Western Canadian Crop Production Show are big events for grain producers because, for many, it will set the wheels in motion for the new crop year. What they experience during the week will influence their seeding plans for the coming production cycle.”

Central to this are all the production associations that hold Annual General Meetings during Crop Production Week: the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission; Saskatchewan Pulse Growers’ Pulse Days, which can draw over 1,000 participants; the Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association; the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission; Canola Days; the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association; the Saskatchewan Alfalfa Seed Producers Association; and the Canaryseed Association of Canada, a newcomer this year.

“What is remarkable about Crop Production Week,” according to SAFRR Business Development Specialist Brian Sim, “is the simple fact that the Production Week and Show, that take place simultaneously at the Saskatoon Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Prairieland Park, are solely dedicated to grain production. This event is geared toward producers who can access in one spot all the latest news and developments in crops and technology that is available and useable on the farm now. The quality and depth of knowledge there is absolutely fantastic.”

One of the highlights of this edition of Crop Production Week will surely be the Wednesday night Special Session titled What Do Consumers Really Want? with Andrew Benson of the International Food Information Council in Washington, D.C..

Rick Holm is President of Crop Production Saskatchewan Inc. “We invited Andrew Benson to come share with us some of his latest consumer research findings.” Holm says. “Consumers are more concerned than ever about food safety issues, production practices on the farm, and the impact they have on the environment. They need to be comfortable not only with the food but also with the entire production process that has allowed it to be made available on the market. Andrew has conducted surveys around the world to find out what consumer expectations are in markets that Saskatchewan producers seek to access.”

In a world where agricultural production seems increasingly guided by consumer expectations, it pays to know what assurances they require. Crop Production Week just seems like a good place to start.

For more information, contact:

Kevin Hursh
Crop Production Week
(306) 933-0138
kevin@hursh.ca

or visit:

http://www.cropweek.com/