Alberta farmer George Lohues is taking his family-run cattle farm to new heights, thanks to the modernization of the province’s irrigation services that is financially backed by the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB).
For years, the farming community in southern Alberta has struggled with outdated open ditch concrete irrigation canals. These canals, once popular, have been failing due to the harsh Canadian winters, leading to water seepage and costly land remediation. The installation of underground pipes promises to make more water available, helping farmers irrigate even the driest corners of their fields.
Climate change-induced drought conditions have spurred action to boost farm yields. Farmers, who are responsible for 70% of the upgrade costs, struggled to find financing through commercial banks until the CIB stepped in with support as one of its first Trade and Transportation sector projects. More than $465 million in loans have been earmarked for irrigation in Alberta, with similar transformations being negotiated in Saskatchewan.
“It has been a game-changer,” Lohues said during a recent tour of the irrigation upgrades at North America’s largest irrigation district, with 520,000 acres between Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. “We didn't think we could pull it off without the terms available through the bank.”
Lohues, who is also chairman of the Saint Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID), highlighted the broader benefits of the investment, noting that processors like McCain Foods are making significant investments, such as doubling their Coaldale processing facility.
The irrigation investment comes from the CIB’s Trade and Transportation sector, which also focuses on passenger rail, ports and logistics facilities, airports, highways, bridges and tunnels, and critical minerals.
The modernization program funded by the CIB and the Alberta government has allowed for an acceleration in the number of projects completed.
“Access to capital is obviously a critical factor when doing large scale infrastructure projects such as these and being able to work with the assistance of the Canada Infrastructure Bank allowed us to really be able to take on and accelerate those projects, which is obviously benefiting our customers,” said David Westwood, SMRID general manager.
In addition to increasing the amount of arable land, the irrigation projects pressurize the system, which removes the requirement for some farmers to prime in order to start their pivots.
The irrigation stability has increased the number of high-value, specialty crops like sugar beets, potatoes, corn, hemp, mint, catnip, lentils and chickpeas that can be grown.
“We’re just seeing crops grown in southern Alberta that weren't grown here 30 to 40 years ago.”