Drought conditions making producers look into irrigation

With the drought-like conditions across the province, Saskatchewan’s Irrigation Projects Association has been busy.

Aaron Gray is a part of the association, and he joined The Brent Loucks Show on Tuesday morning to discuss irrigation and how the association has been dealing with the conditions.

“Our phones are ringing off the hook lately, when we’re in a bit of a drought situation,” Gray said. “There are a lot more pivots being put up.”

Gray said it’ll cost around $150,000 for developing a new system for a quarter section, if the producer has water at the edge of the quarter.

He estimated that, right now, there are more than 200,000 acres of farmland that currently are being irrigated in the province, and that every crop will benefit from the added moisture.

For producers looking to set up irrigation, it’s not a quick process.

“We’re estimating about two years. You might be able to streamline a couple of things, but you have to get permits, licences, and soil studies to see if the soil is even suitable for irrigation,” Gray said.