Medicine Hat District Office

Assistance available

AAFC-PFRA works with producers, farm groups, industry and other levels of government to help protect prairie soils and to develop and conserve water resources. The Medicine Hat PFRA District Office supports its clients through information delivery and technology transfer related to land/soil conservation and water supply development. See Programs & Services for a list of programs delivered. Technical skills are available to help clients analyze opportunities, make initial assessments of feasibility and to develop ideas and concepts. Projects are implemented in an environmentally sustainable manner.

District Overview

The Medicine Hat District of AAFC-PFRA is located in the southeast corner of the province of Alberta. The District boundary encompasses approximately 3.1 million hectares (7.7 million acres) of land and includes Cypress County, the County of Forty Mile No. 8, the County of Newell No. 4, a portion of Special Areas No. 2 and the Canadian Forces Base Suffield, one of the best military training areas in the world. There are approximately 2,900 farms in the District.

For more information, visit the following sites:

• Cypress County: http://www.cypress.ab.ca/
• County of Forty Mile No. 8: http://www.fortymile.ab.ca/
• County of Newell No. 4: http://www.countyofnewell.ab.ca/
• Special Areas No. 2: http://www.specialareas.ab.ca/

Climate

The District is characterized by hot, arid summers and cold winters. The average annual precipitation in the area is only about 350 mm (13.8 inches) with about three quarters of this amount falling as rain during the main growing season (May to September). Frequent winds are responsible for moisture loss to soils during the summer months and warm "chinook" winds often result in the removal of snow cover during the winter months.

Soils/Landscape

The majority of the land in the Medicine Hat District is located in the Brown Soil Zone with some smaller areas of Dark Brown Soil in the northwest part of the County of Newell and to the southeast of the City of Medicine Hat in a region known as the Cypress Hills. Soil productivity potential is generally rated as low to fair.

Perhaps the most significant feature in the District is the large percentage of native prairie (approximately 70% in Cypress County). Much of the native range land is owned by the Province of Alberta and leased to ranchers or community pastures.

Water

The most significant drainage systems include the Red Deer River which forms the north boundary of the District, the Bow River on the west boundary, the South Saskatchewan River which flows through the City of Medicine Hat and the Milk River which crosses the southern portion of the County of Forty Mile. A large portion of the County of Newell and parts of the County of Forty Mile and Cypress County are situated within Irrigation Districts.

Agricultural operations and communities rely on pipelines from irrigation canals/reservoirs, surface runoff into dugouts and/or groundwater (drilled wells) for livestock watering and domestic needs.

General

Agricultural productivity in this area of the province is limited due to the risk of drought and soil degradation. The shortgrass prairie grassland cow/calf operations help support the feedlot industry in the irrigated areas. Dryland crops such as spring wheat and canola can be grown with special conservation practices. Irrigated crops in the area include alfalfa, soft wheat, durum wheat, sugar beets, barley, beans and corn. The warm winters, high heat units and abundant natural gas developments have resulted in a thriving greenhouse industry. Other economic activities include oil and gas production, mining and eco-tourism.