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'The saving grace for agriculture': Farmers look to irrigation amid climate woes

Sean Stanford's wheat farm just south of Lethbridge, Alta. falls within the far left corner of Palliser's Triangle — an expanse of prairie grassland encompassingmuch of southeast Alberta, a swath of southern Saskatchewan, and the southwest corner of Manitoba.

The area is named for explorer Capt. John Palliser, who in 1857, famously declared the entire region a wasteland — so hot and arid that no crops would ever grow.

More than 160 years later, with parts of the prairie provinces suffering through another summer of drought conditions, Stanford's farm is certainly dry.

"I think we've had three inches of rain since we started seeding. It's been pretty dismal, honestly," he said in an interview in July.

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Minister Heath MacDonald launches consultations on agricultural policy framework

Video: Minister Heath MacDonald launches consultations on agricultural policy framework


Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald speaks with reporters in Ottawa following the launch of public consultations on the government’s next agricultural policy framework.

Also speaking are Sophie Chatel (parliamentary secretary to the agriculture minister), Yasir Naqvi (MP for Ottawa Centre), Kerry-Leigh Burchill (director general of the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum), and Keith Currie (president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture).