Grainswest - Fall 2021

Fall 2021 Grains West 6 Ariver runs through it IN AUGUST, PHOTOGRAPHER Zoltan Varadi and I set out on a mission through the Peace Country that took us to a string of farms and agricultural research facilities. The on-duty portion of our GrainsWest road trip began at the Ag- riculture and Agri-Food Canada Beaver- lodge Research Station in the southwest corner of the region. First-time tourists in this massive area, we covered a lot of territory but admit- tedly visited only a modest portion of it. After a suitably reverent visit to the world’s largest roadside rodent in the town of Beaverlodge, we proceeded diag- onally across central Peace on Highway 2. On Highway 35, we headed straight up into north Peace and looped through Mackenzie County in the region’s north- east for a final photo session at the La Crete ferry crossing at Highway 697. At this busy portal, the banks of the Peace River are relatively steep, though not so much as at Dunvegan, where the rail bridge dramatically crosses the narrow and deeply cut river valley. Along much of its course, the region’s namesake river flows roughly 180 metres below the surrounding crops. Though this makes irrigation difficult, as the river winds along the top end of Mackenzie County, the drop from crop to water gradually diminishes. In this area, farmers talk of irrigation as a possibility. Despite its high latitude, the Peace is a land of such surprising possibilities. Sure, forage and short-sea- son crops are grown where local micro- climate demands, but a vast portion of the Peace can support most crops grown down south. At the Mackenzie Applied Research Association facility in Fort Vermilion, researchers work to make the agronomic case for new crop options that may suit local conditions. At the most northerly tip of Canada’s most northerly agricultural region, this even includes soybeans. “The Peace process” (pg. 20) encom- passes a discussion as wide as the Peace itself. It may be literally located in the backwoods, but the Peace is full of farmers who are forward thinking, quick on their feet and always on the lookout for new ways to outplay local climate extremes and build business opportunities. EDITOR’S MESSAGE An important transportation link for Mackenzie County farmers, the La Crete ferry crosses the Peace River at Highway 697. Photo:ZoltanVaradi Highlydecoratedwriters GrainsWest contributors received a substantial pat on the back from our farm media colleagues at the 2021 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Awards held on Sept. 24. Carol Patterson was honoured with both the gold Jack Cram Award for people feature and feature of the year for “Special circumstances,” the cover story of our winter 2020 issue. The story looked at farm life and agronomic practices in Alberta’s arid Special Areas. With a sweep of three categories, Trevor Bacque won a gold in the technical feature category, story of the year and reporter of the year for his piece “Sow what?” An objective examination of seed add-ons and specialty fertilizers, it also appeared in the magazine’s winter 2020 issue. Thirdly, Sarah Weigum was presented with the silver Tom Leach Award for electronic media in the audio category, for “PPE MIA,” the sixth episode of The GrainsWest Podcast . In it, she investigated the lack of personal protective equipment experienced within the farm sector during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. To read these stories and listen to this podcast, visit grainswest. com.