AGRICULTURAL SERVICE BOARD 2009 ANNUAL REPORT

"Helping Farmers & Ranchers Produce Good Food For Your Family"

* ¹ since 2002     ² since 1991     ³ since 1994      ⁴ since 1992    ⁵ since 2010

• Cypress County Agricultural Services Board

  2010 Annual Report

  The Agriculture Service Board (ASB) is responsible for administering and enforcing The Agriculture Service Board Act, The Agriculture Pest Act, The Soil Conservation Act and The Weed Control Act. The ASB also provides the county’s rate payers with proactive agricultural services and programs not generally available elsewhere. The intention is to help producers operate sustainable farms and ranches in the county.

  In early May Assistant Ag Fieldman Geoff Brotherton left the county to try his hand at selling farming equipment in Olds and in October Christina Barrieau was hired as a replacement after spending a summer weed inspecting and operating a spray truck for the county.

  As most farmers and ranchers know, this year had its fair share of challenges due to the weather.  Days where the weather allowed for spraying were few and far between in the early part of the season. With the additional moisture there was quiet a flush of weeds in the county. Knapweed control took up a great deal of time and the crews spent many days hand picking and spraying that Prohibited Noxious weed. Staff also worked hard to keep on top of the known Scentless Chamomile infestations. There is not much of that Noxious weed in the county and keeping it at bay is a top priority. 

   A major part of the ASB’s role in the county is to manage the invasive weed species in the ditches along side county roads. Early and mid summer, staff were targeting field bindweed in the Suffield and Dunmore area. The fall Canada Thistle spraying in county ditches took place in the Jenner, Redcliff, and Seven Persons area. Staff also spent some time spraying along the Trans Canada Highway, where they targeted Canada Thistle, Bindweed and Showy Milk Weed.

  The ASB purchased several new pieces of equipment in 2010. A Kubota RTV was purchased and outfitted with a 400L spray tank and boomless nozzles, this unit will primarily be used on pastures and in ditches not suitable for trucks. The ASB also purchased a new F-550 spray truck, which was outfitted with a direct chemical injection system and a boom capable of spraying to the fenceline without having to drive into the ditch.      

  The ASB provides several pieces of specialty equipment for rate payers to use. The two John Deere no till drills were used by 14 producers to seed a total of 1208 acres. The land roller was used by 4 producers and covered a total of 415 acres. The cattle scale was used 4 times and weighed 144 head of cattle. The ASB makes the cattle scale available to local 4-H Clubs free of charge. The Gallagher RFID tag reader was used once and read the tags on a total of 200 head of cattle.

  The federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency granted the province an emergency registration of 2% Liquid Strychnine for the control of Richardson’s Ground Squirrels for a third year in a row and in Cypress County 86 agricultural producers purchased the product. The ASB would like to thank everyone who participated in the program for handling this product in a very responsible manner. There were no reported cases of “off target” poisonings in 2010. 

   The 2010 crop demonstration plots were a great success, with over 30 producers from as far away as Jenner coming to participate in the half day tour of the plots. The ASB’s partnership with the Southern Applied Research Association (SARA) has created many opportunities for producers in Cypress County to take advantage of the work that the research group is doing.

   With new ideas being brought forward by rate payers, other government agencies and board members, ASB programs and policies attempt to take a proactive approach to promoting sustainable agriculture in the county.

   

  Garry Lentz

  Chairman

  Cypress County ASB