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As spring approaches, National Soil Conservation Week is a great time to start thinking about the health of your garden or field.
One simple way to know the state of health of your soil is what Jim Tokarchuk, the Executive Director of the Soil Conservation Council of Canada, calls ‘Soil Your Undies’.
“A very simple science experiment that anyone can do. By simply finding a pair of new cotton underwear, burying it in the soil starting in the spring then coming back in July and examining the stage of decomposition of the cotton product.”
By doing this experiment, it tells you, the state of biological activity in your soil. He says generally the more active the soil is the healthier it is.
With farmers using most of the soil, it’s vital that they implement best management practices to mitigate many problems that might occur.
“It’s not a free good. If you don’t look after it, it will decline. So things like the extent of tillage, the type of tillage equipment, the type of crop rotations you use, all have an impact on soil health. So we say to farmers across the country, think about that as you begin doing your planting.”
Tokarchuk says soil is a living breathing system that provides nutrients and water to crops, is a home for billions of organisms and produces 95% of the food we eat.
He also says the annual cost of soil degradation is estimated at over $3 billion each year in Canada and it will only increase if nothing is done.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Approximately 3400 employees are represented by Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
The two unions cite a lack of progress at the bargaining table and if there is no negotiated settlement, they will walk out at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.
This potential strike comes at a bad time with the railway under pressure from shippers to move backed up grain shipments and meet the demands of the oil industry.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Kevin Giesbrecht is receiving the Parkland One to Watch award at the ACC Alumni Awards.
Giesbrecht is an Ag and Commercial Lender at Catalyst Credit Union and took two courses at the ACC from 2009-2012 in Land and Water Management and Ag Business.
He enjoyed the small class size and hands on learning at ACC.
“I really enjoyed the small class sizes at ACC and getting out on fieldtrips and we’d do a lot of hands on studying and learning in the field. Also the instructors were really good, if you had any questions or anything, they’d take the time to sit down with you and go over something.”
The Alumni Awards banquet is on Thursday, April 26th at 5:00 in the evening at the Lions’ Den.
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Higher traces of lead have been discovered in some Dauphin homes.
These homes volunteered to have their water tested as part of a provincial assessment.
Once a year, the city is required to test for lead in the water, by the Office of Drinking Water.
City of Dauphin’s Director of Public Works, Bill Brenner, talks about the current standard.
“The current standard is 10 parts per billion or .01 milligrams per litre and that is in the distribution system in the city.”
Brenner notes some homes tested quite high.
“They varied, some were right around 10 and some were higher. I don’t have the numbers right in front of me, so I can’t tell you exactly what they were but there were a couple that were quite elevated.”
The City of Dauphin currently has 445 lead service connectors still in use and this could contribute to the levels of lead in the water.
However homes that have copper piping in could have lead solder which will also reveal traces of lead in the water.
The city is willing to work with home owners to replace lead service connectors up to the property line, after that the owner is responsible for the connection to their home.
There’s an application that must be filed out to have the work done by the city.
Brenner noted the city will be testing water for those homes that are connected to a lead service line, but if home owners want to test their water, they can pay $50 for a kit, do the test, bring it to the city and they will send it away for testing.
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The project allowed for first year BU courses to be taken in Dauphin and then was extended to a second year.
The city and university invested money to have the project here with hopes the province would see the need and potential to keep it going; however no funding has come through.
The enrolment was growing in the program but not enough to be self-sustaining.
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One exception is a moderate risk of overland flooding of low-lying areas along the Red and Assiniboine Rivers.
Ice will begin break up this week and ice-jam related flooding is still a possibility and is being monitored.
Icebreaking activities have been completed at all high risk locations.
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The Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest rate steady at 1.25 percent.
Most economists had expected the bank not to increase this rate.
What analysts were more interested in was whether they were going to see any signals about future rate hikes.
Analysts are now predicting Canada's economy will grow 2% through this year.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Laura Chartrand is the third local person to be receiving an award at the ACC Alumni Awards.
Chartrand is being presented with the Excellence in Teaching Award for her dedication as a teacher in the Business Administration course.
She studied the very program she teaches at ACC.
“I was at ACC between 1998 and 2000 and I took the Business Administration program.”
The ACC Alumni Awards is on Thursday, April 26 at 5:00 in the evening at the Lions’ Den.
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A former Yorkton RCMP officer will be sentenced on two sexual assault charges next week.
Last month Alan Davidson, 62 years old, pleaded guilty to the charges.
He was also convicted of 5 similar charges in BC last December.
Davidson is seeking house arrest, while the Crown is asking for 8 years in prison.
A decision is expected to be made next week.
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There is a road closure today for the 200 block of 5th Avenue NE in Dauphin to repair a water service.
Be prepared to detour.
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The number of animal welfare complaints across the province has increased sharply in the last decade.
Roxanne Neufeld, from the Dauphin Vet Clinic, personally hasn’t seen much of an increase, she says its just more people are aware of what is acceptable.
She says the largest number of complaints is dogs then cats and then horses.
“I think the biggest reason that we’re seeing so many more complaints is that people are now becoming more aware of the fact that there is an animal care line where people can call in to and that they can call anonymously and make those complaints. The Chief Veterinary office have to investigate every complaint that is heard.”
Neufeld says just over half of the reports are valid, but officials will investigate every complaint they receive.
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