Clubroot in the MD of Bonnyville is here to stay

BONNYVILLE – After a busy growing season, an Agricultural Services Department quarterly report surprised some MD of Bonnyville councillors with trends occurring in the municipality. 

Each year, MD staff inspect local crops for a variety of diseases. These inspections start as early as May and are then submitted to Alberta Agriculture. 

The reports help to forecast problems and trends for upcoming years. 

“We completed 16 fields for clubroot and blackleg and all were negative. Two wheat fields were surveyed for fusarium (fungal disease) and two locations were set for Bertha armyworm traps, all were well below the threshold, with the exception of some grasshopper areas,” said Janice Boden, the manager of agricultural services, during a regular meeting on Nov. 23. 

“If we have a warm dry spring, [grasshoppers] will be on our watch list,” she noted 

Considering the 16 negative inspections for clubroot within the municipality, Coun. Ben Fadeyiw asked if the spread of the soil-borne disease was beginning to slow down. 

In response, Boden said, "We used to do 100 per cent canola field inspections which required a lot of time for the staff and a lot of resources. Clubroot is here and it's spreading.” 

Boden explained that the Ag Service Board decided to test fields that haven’t previously tested positive for clubroot to see if and where the root disease is spreading. The change in tactic reduced the total number of crop inspections carried out. 

An Alberta Agriculture grant that helps municipalities inspect for invasive crop diseases only requires the MD to do a minimum of eight inspections each season. 

“I wasn’t expecting that answer,” acknowledged Fadeyiw. 

“Clubroot is here, and it will move," stated Boden. “Any soil movement will move clubroot.” 

Beginning May 2, 2022, three contracted weed inspectors visited 1,790 properties for noxious weeds. 

According to Boden, 281 locations were identified as requiring weed control. Canada Thistle was noted to have thrived in the dry summer season. 

The MD hires weed inspectors every year to work with landowners to slow the spread of noxious weeds to protect the municipality’s agricultural lands. 

Protecting infrastructure 

The Agricultural Services Department also noted 100 beaver tails were brought in and 89 beavers were trapped by MD staff to protect infrastructure. 

“Thus far this year, we have blasted eight dams privately, one dam for the roads and we have mechanically opened 27 dams to protect our infrastructure,” highlighted Boden. 

The MD implemented a beaver reduction program in 2018, to allow landowners to bring in the tails of problem beavers and receive a $20 payout to reduce the flooding of crops and dwellings on private land. 

During the third quarter, staff have also completed 83 site visits to ensure no rats have crossed into Alberta from Saskatchewan. No rats were reported to have been found. 

Supporting farmers and ranchers 

The MD also rented out 145 pieces of farm equipment to residents from the beginning of the year until the end of September.  

The Agriculture Rental Equipment program was designed to ensure farming and ranching operations within the municipality remain sustainable and profitable, according to municipal documents.  

The municipality has roughly 28 pieces of agriculture equipment that can be rented. 

In the third quarter, the Agricultural Services Department also received 48 claims for the MD’s Veterinary Health Program. The program was designed to help ease the financial burden that MD farmers and ranchers sometimes experience when hit with unexpected herd health issues. 

A total of just over $6,600 was dispensed in the third quarter. The Veterinary Health Program has processed 398 claims to date.