Why is burning not a recommended practice to manage crop residue?
Will a fire destroy my soil organic matter?
What is being done to reduce the smoke problem from agricultural burning?
Why is night time burning discouraged?
What efforts are being made to monitor the extent of smoke events and health impacts?
Is there current provincial legislation that regulates stubble burning?

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Why is burning not a recommended practice to manage crop residue?

Burning may seem like a simple method of managing crop residue, but it is actually expensive and damaging. Burning causes problems in many ways.

Economic loss

Straw has a value. Straw is a source of soil nutrients and organic material. Decomposition releases these resources to build and maintain the soil. Soil resources, in turn, enhance crop production. Most of the organic material and nutritional content of straw is lost upon burning.

Straw also provides soil cover. Soil cover reduces evaporation, increases water infiltration, increases snow trap, reduces wind and water erosion, and provides a good microclimate for developing seedlings.

Liability

Individuals who burn are liable for damages from the fire and smoke. Fire can easily get out of control. Smoke can be dangerous if it drifts across roads and impairs visibility.

Health

While smoke may only be a nuisance to some people, it can be a serious health risk for those with respiratory problems, such as asthma or emphysema. Statistics show that 10 to 15 per cent of the general population suffers with some type of respiratory condition.

Environment

Smoke is a source of air pollution. Carbon from the straw is released through burning as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gases.

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Will a fire destroy my soil organic matter?

A fast stubble fire will not get hot enough to burn your organic matter. However, the contribution of the straw to the soil organic matter will be lost. Piles of crop residue will burn hotter, and may burn partially decomposed organic material in that localized area.  

How else can I manage crop residue? – SAF Alternatives to Burning

Chop and spread – The combine is the most effective tool for managing residue. Even without grain to harvest, running a combine equipped with a straw chopper and chaff spreader will effectively distribute the residue. All nutrients and organic material are retained.

Cut and remove – Swathing and baling removes the straw and, if unharvested, the chaff. SAF has a forage listing for producers wanting to sell the straw. SAF forage listing

Seed into standing stubble – Disc openers can seed into tall, unharvested stubble. The ability of disc openers to go through tall stubble may eliminate the need for the residue to be managed. If the crop is trampled or lodged, other management techniques will have to be used. Hoe openers are limited by the height of the stubble.

What is being done to reduce the smoke problem from agricultural burning?

Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) provides materials to encourage farmers to use best management practices in managing crop residues, to burn only as a last resort, and then only in a manner that avoids health and safety risks.

As well, the SAF Agricultural Burning Awareness program provides links to Environment Canada’s daily ventilation forecast maps, so producers can have first-hand information about when it is safe to burn.

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Why is nighttime burning discouraged?
In the evening, especially in the fall, a "shallow atmospheric inversion" often sets up. Air close to the ground cools quickly at night, and smoke is trapped and unable to disperse. Smoke nuisance and health impacts are usually reduced by daytime burning when there is more air movement and better smoke dispersion. However, care must be taken to contain the fire within the field and to ensure that smoke does not drift onto highways or over to neighbours.

What efforts are being made to monitor the extent of smoke events and health impacts?

It is very difficult to estimate the extent of crop residue burning across the province.  The actual amount varies dramatically from year to year, depending upon amounts of rainfall, cropping patterns and weather conditions during and after the harvest season.  Some years, burning may take place over quite a long fall season, or even be delayed to the following spring.  As such, it would be difficult to estimate the extent of burning in a given year, or to analyze trends.

Attempting to quantify smoke impacts is also very complex, since a smoke event may have significant impacts, or may go almost unnoticed, depending upon location and climatic conditions.  Burning the crop residue from one field, in a sensitive location, and under poor weather conditions could directly impact hundreds of people.  It is also difficult to correlate hospital emergency room visits with smoke events, due to dispersed populations and hospital records that do not necessarily specify the cause of respiratory problems. However, health, environmental, agricultural and municipal agencies do at times receive notice from individuals who have suffered severe health impacts due to agricultural burning.  Currently, the agency that receives the complaint deals with it and then reports the event to Saskatchewan Environment for monitoring purposes.

Is there current provincial legislation that regulates stubble burning?

The Clean Air Act regulates sources of air pollutants. Under the Act, permits are not required for "a fire for the purpose of burning grain stubble or grain straw." However, this exemption is only from the requirement to obtain a permit. The individual who sets the fire can be charged, and may also face a civil lawsuit, if the fire causes property damage, a traffic accident or aggravates health problems.

The Agriculture Operations Act provides a mechanism for resolving disputes from agricultural nuisances. The nuisance provisions of this Act also provide for the development of guidelines for Normally Accepted Agricultural Practice.

Additional information:

• Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377
• Agricultural Burning Awareness Program website.