Prairie Land and Water Resources

Soil Resources

There are five major soil zones in Western Canada distinguishable by differences in surface colour, organic matter content, depth of profile and structure. These characteristics reflect significant differences in the climate and vegetation under which the soils were developed and continue to influence the soil quality and productive capability.

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The agricultural capability of the land resources of the Prairies have been evaluated as part of the Canada Land Inventory Program. Based on this inventory, there are a total of 47.6 million hectares of arable land in the prairie provinces. The distribution of these soils under annual crop cultivation (excluding hay and pasture) in Western Canada is as follows:

SOIL ZONE PERCENTAGE

MANITOBA SASKATCHEWAN ALBERTA TOTAL

Brown - 25 17 19

Dark Brown - 35 19 25

Black 77 30 19 25

Dark Grey 14 8 16 11

Grey Luvisol 9 2 9 6

TOTAL (million acres) 11.1 45.1 24.2 80.4

SOIL ZONE	PERCENTAGE
MANITOBA	SASKATCHEWAN	ALBERTA	TOTAL
Brown	-	25	17	19
Dark Brown	-	35	19	25
Black	77	30	19	25
Dark Grey	14	8	16	11
Grey Luvisol	9	2	9	6
TOTAL (million acres)	11.1	45.1	24.2	80.4

In addition to the cultivated area of 80 million acres in 1992, 12 million acres of farmland are in tame hay or improved pasture.

Agricultural activities on the Brown soils range from field cropping with wheat and small grains to a significant amount of tame hay production and livestock grazing on improved and native pasture. This area is very dry, with annual precipitation averaging 340 mm. Recurring droughts are a characteristic feature and determine, in large degree, the typical farming patterns such as crop-fallow rotations under cultivation and extensive grazing of native rangelands.

The Dark brown soils are somewhat less arid with annual rainfall averaging 370mm. The crops grown are also mainly wheat and other small grains, although a significant portion of mixed livestock and grain farming occurs. Drought is still a prevalent feature in this area.

The Black soils have developed under the most favourable climatic conditions. Precipitation is less limited. Land is used mainly for grain farming with a wider range of crop selection including wheat, coarse grains, oilseeds and special crops, with forages in areas where mixed farming is practiced.

Dark Grey soils that are under cultivation are used mainly for mixed farming with emphasis on small grains, oilseeds and forages. Cooler climate and soil restrictions severely limit the range of crops that can be grown on the Grey Luvisolic soils to mainly grains and forages. These soils are found along the forest fringes where agro-forestry is practical.

Of approximately 95 million acres of improved land (cultivated and other improved land), 72 percent is Canada Land Inventory Class 1-3 land. This is considered suitable for annual crop production, with varying degrees of conservation and management practices required to sustain viable long-term production. The remainder of the improved land base is of marginal quality for annual crop production (CLI Class 4 and poorer). It requires extensive soil conservation and management practices to sustain production. These lands are better suited to forage production and grazing.

Soil Drifting

Strip farming became the established crop practice on about 50 percent of the Brown Soil Zone in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and on as much as 80 percent of the more drift susceptible areas within that zone. Outside of the Brown Soil Zone, the percentage of strip farming is less -- about 7 percent in the Dark Brown Zone and probably less than 1 percent in the Black Zone. Plowless, trash-covered fallow (summer fallow) was accepted as standard practice by farmers on about 20 to 25 percent of the crop land in Manitoba, on roughly 50 percent of the crop land in Saskatchewan, and on most of the crop land within the prairie area in Alberta.

In 1937 and early in 1938, soil drifting threatened to destroy several hundred thousand acres of crop land in the southwestern section of the drought area. To remedy this situation, measures were required that exceeded the resources of individual farmers, or even groups of farmers, to implement on their own. Under the auspices of the Experimental Farms at Swift Current and Lethbridge, farmers were organized to apply emergency control measures where necessary with equipment supplied by the Farms. Wherever possible, this work was conducted through the local Agricultural Improvement Association. The main emergency measure was to ridge the land using large cultivator shovels. This did not entirely stop the drifting but prevented it from assuming uncontrollable proportions until crop growth could be started. In this manner, severe drifting was controlled on some 300,000 acres of land.

Soil conservation measures which were subsequently developed and applied over large areas included the following:

Strip farming to control soil drifting
Rotational cropping (generally on a 2 year rotation to conserve moisture and control weeds).
Trash cover on summerfallow to control soil drifting and conserve moisture
Establishment on field shelterbelts to control soil drifting and conserve moisture

Planting trees also helped to cut the wind and anchor the blowing soil. Early settlers found that certain species could not survive the extreme cold and dryness of the west. To provide settlers with hardy tree seedlings, the federal government established the Forest Nursery Station at Indian head, Saskatchewan in 1901.

Initially most trees were used for farmstead shelterbelts to protect buildings and livestock. By 1920, however, a period of drought had made soil erosion a serious problem in many parts of the Prairies. Farmers began planting field shelterbelts to help cut the wind, thereby reducing soil drifting.

The oldest and largest planting was at Conquest, Saskatchewan, while others were at Lyleton, Manitoba, Porter Lake, Alberta and Aneroid, also in Saskatchewan.