LAKE DIEFENBAKER - Jeremy Cockrill, Minister Responsible for the Water Security Agency, is excited to discuss the groundbreaking project centered on Lake Diefenbaker, which will see up to 500,000 acres of land become irrigable over the next decade.
It's a game-changing formula that will see irrigation in the province reach toward its potential in the biggest way possible.
Speaking with this reporter over the phone, Minister Cockrill says the work is ongoing with the project, something that he sees as a generational thing in our province.
"Certainly, with a project of this magnitude and significance for the province, there's a lot of work to do to put something like this together," said Jeremy. "It's a generational project, and it's very much a unique project, and so the work that's required from an engineering perspective and from a hydrological perspective; we've been busy doing a bunch of that work in the last number of years. Before there can be shovels in the ground, we have to make sure that we have our ducks in a row and also that the project can be affordable for producers. That's the work that we've been undertaking over the last number of years, and we're going to be doing more of that work in this upcoming year. We're getting closer and closer to getting some shovels in the ground, which I know folks in your area are anxious to see."
In speaking with people around Saskatchewan, the Minister says excitement and attention break the provincial borders when discussing this project, and he's seeing more and more producers seeing their irrigation investments ultimately pay off.
"I'd say they are," he said, when asked if people are anticipating the opportunities that may lay ahead. "I hear it in talking with producers around the Lake Diefenbaker area, but also beyond that and around the province. More and more producers are getting into irrigation and seeing some really strong results. As you know, we've had a couple of dry years recently, and so obviously, when you have some control over how much water is available to your crops, that makes a difference at the end of the year, both in terms of yields and quality. So, what I'm seeing is certainly a higher degree of interest from producers, obviously right around Lake Diefenbaker, but also in other areas of the province as well."
Cockrill says that he doesn't believe Ottawa has given the project an official thumbs up, and says that having that level of credibility with support from the federal government may help the project reach higher heights at a more substantial pace.
"I don't think they've given us their support yet," he said. "I do think that what we're trying to do here with irrigation, I think it lines up with national interests and lines up with many of the priorities that the federal government have talked about. But in terms of actually being supportive of the project, I think we have yet to see that come to fruition, both from a financial sense - and that's a conversation that we're having on an ongoing basis with the federal government, and it's important that they're at the table with some dollars for this project, so we haven't seen that yet - and then also, there are going to potentially be some regulatory challenges coming from the federal government and we hope that they're a partner in that in terms of addressing those when those come our way."
Earlier this year, SARM (the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities) voiced its concerns with the speed of the project, with SARM President Ray Orb saying that after some very hard years of drought, producers, rural communities and RM's would see some benefits from the construction and added irrigation.
Orb also said that while they know that there was engineering done, consultants involved, public meetings and a lot of meetings with rural municipalities around the west side of Lake Diefenbaker, SARM just wanted to get up to speed with what's happening.
Cockrill understands SARM's frustrations and says that the project is still very much forging ahead.
"Speaking of SARM, I think they're certainly still supportive of the project and irrigation," he said. "I think SARM's frustrations come from the timing and the work that's required to go into a large project of this size. The challenges that come up in a project like this, so much of the work that you're doing, it's hard to see; is it moving? There aren't big machines out there, clearing channels and clearing reservoirs. I understand the frustration from SARM, but I've assured SARM members and leadership that we are continuing to make progress on the Diefenbaker project and we recognize the importance of irrigation in the project and the opportunity that it offers to producers, both now and into the future. I understand SARM's perspective, but I've assured them and I can assure everybody that we are continuing to do work on the Diefenbaker project."
When the Diefenbaker project is finally completed in a number of years, the Minister says that the possibilties over where it takes Saskatchewan as far as the world market is concerned are endless.
"For me, that's one of the most exciting parts of this project - it's imagining how irrigation expansion will change Saskatchewan's economy 30, 40, 50 years down the road," he said. "Just think about the type of crops that we're known for - wheat, canola, pulse crops - but as irrigation expands and there are more and more opportunities, the crop mix is going to change in Saskatchewan and that's going to create even more value-added opportunities in this province. That's where irrigation expansion is a good thing, not only for the folks in the Outlook and Lake Diefenbaker areas, but it's good news for the folks in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw, so there's a lot of opportunity ahead as we expand the irrigation in the province."
Saskatchewan, it's been said, has long been a land of untapped potential as far as irrigation is concerned. Minister Cockrill is glad to see that this project may finally tap into that potential and take the province into a new age as far as agriculture is concerned.
"I would say that we're already expanding irrigation at a pretty aggressive rate," he said. "Our growth plan goal is to add 85,000 acres over this decade, and we're well ahead of that pace. Obviously, the Diefenbaker project represents the largest chunk of acres that we're working on right now, but we're also working on other multiple smaller projects right around the province and, again, we're trying to tap into that potential of what irrigation can offer to Saskatchewan producers and to the whole province."
