Groundwater Archives - Manitoba Co-operator

A 3D model of the Assiniboine River Basin created for the first phase of the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association Aquanty project.

Field-level water forecasts: There’s an app for that

MFGA seeks buy in for high-resolution water forecast model

By Don Norman December 5, 2023

The Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association envisions farmers using its Aquanty water forecasting app as commonly as they would look at their local weather forecast. “There’s a real opportunity for some water conservation at the farmgate level that this tool enhances,” said MFGA executive director Duncan Morrison. Why it matters: Understanding where water is and

“I would say that we have caught up for this season.” – Alexis Stockford.

News

Soil moisture levels look good heading into winter

Winter snows and spring rains have largely balanced the soil-moisture deficit

By Don Norman November 24, 2022

After several years of drought or near-drought conditions that significantly reduced groundwater levels, the water tables may be turning. “In terms of soil moisture, I would say that we have caught up for this season,” says Timi Ojo, an agricultural systems modeller with Manitoba Agriculture who has expertise in soil moisture. Why it’s important: In

Millions of small depressions across the Prairie landscape capture precipitation and enable infiltration.

Farmit Manitoba, News

Unique pothole landscape allows annual spring groundwater recharge on Prairies

Landscape depressions capture run-off, enable slow infiltration into earth

By Gord Leathers October 29, 2021

It’s been a scorcher across the Prairies this year. Even the typically moist Red River Valley registered exceptional drought last summer and western farmers are seriously hoping for snow cover this winter to bring those soil moisture levels up. Masaki Hayashi, a professor with the University of Calgary’s geoscience department, says that’s only half of

Other

Manitoba cautions on manganese in well water

About a third of wells exceed updated limits, province says

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News May 19, 2021

A significant number of wells in Manitoba may be carrying water with manganese levels well above new health standards, particularly for infants. The province on May 3 issued an advisory for owners of private wells that their water “may exceed a new health-based guideline” for the trace element. The element occurs naturally, and commonly, in

Aquanty tour attendees make a stop at one of several water control structures in the Assiniboine-Birdstail Watershed June 21. The watershed was the focus of some of the first scenarios run through the MFGA Aquanty hydrological model.

Livestock

MFGA Aquanty project begins to bear fruit

By Alexis Stockford July 13, 2017

The full Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association Aquanty project won’t be launched until next spring,  but test scenarios are beginning to flow through the hydrological model

Data is beginning to flow from the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) Aquanty project, although results are preliminary. The hydrological model, to be launched in March 2018, will mimic the interaction between water and land in the Assiniboine River Basin. “As we learn more about the MFGA Aquanty model, it becomes more and more

Multiple flooding events in the Assiniboine River basin the past several years have seen crops losses increase in many jurisdictions.

Local news

MCDA updated on progress of Aquanty project

Conservation districts could one day use the program to run water-based scenarios in their jurisdictions

By Lorraine Stevenson January 9, 2017

It’s no crystal ball, but when a new computer modelling program now under development is complete, a much clearer picture how various flood and drought scenarios could impact the rural landscape will emerge. Delegates at last month’s Manitoba Conservation District Association annual convention heard more about how a new HydroGeoSphere model under construction will work

Sealing an abandoned well will prevent accidents and protect groundwater from contamination.

Local news

Unsealed wells a safety, health and environmental issue

Sealing wells will prevent accidents and groundwater contamination

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff May 25, 2016

How many abandoned wells are on your property? There’s a really good chance most farmers won’t have an answer to that question, and an equally good chance that most of them will have at least one. It could be in an old yard site that’s still clearly present. It could be in a part of

The receding waterline of Lake Hodges is seen in San Diego County Jan. 17, 2014, when California Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency.

Comment, Crops

Considering the true cost of agricultural production systems

Externalizing the cost of production is becoming less acceptable to society

By Daryll E. Ray, Harwood D. Schaffer September 22, 2015

California is in the midst of a multi-year drought that has reduced the snowpack and rains that fill the reservoirs and irrigation canals that provide water for the cities of the state as well as agricultural production. The result is lower allocations and higher prices for all water users including agriculture. Some farmers have responded

Livestock

Too early to alter nitrogen guidelines

Solid manure applications may actually release more nitrogen over time, not less

By Shannon VanRaes August 12, 2014

The questions, how much nitrogen was applied and how much is available don’t have the same answer. Seven crops into a long-term study on nutrient management at the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment, researchers have found that current provincial guidelines for estimating nitrogen availability may not reflect reality when it comes using solid

Woman presenting at a podium with microphone.

Crops, Livestock, Oilseeds

Struvite from manure safer in canola seed row

Manitoba Soil Science Society serves up a heaping helping of new research

By Daniel Winters March 12, 2014

There’s a whole lot of stinky goodness in hog manure, and researchers at the University of Manitoba have been working hard to make it more convenient for grain farmers to use. Experimental extraction of struvite, or magnesium ammonium phosphate — the same greyish-white crystallized minerals that kidney stones are made of — has shown promise as

Daily Network News

Canadian alpacas impress American judge at Agribition

U.S. grains: Chicago grains firm as traders gauge China purchases

U.S. livestock: Futures rally ahead of U.S. Thanksgiving

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