Handout 15.1
A Brief History of Agriculture in Saskatchewan
One important part of the foundation of Saskatchewan is agriculture and today our
farmers are among the most productive in the world.
First Crop
It is thought that the first wheat planted in what is now Saskatchewan was sown in the
Carrot River Valley in the 1750s; however, it would be well over a hundred years before
agriculture really began to take root in the province.
The National Policy
Prime Minister John A. Macdonald’s plan for Canada called for massive immigration to
the West. The transcontinental railway would bring settlers to the Prairies and
transport agricultural products to the east. Western Canada would provide markets for
eastern manufactured goods which benefitted from tariff protection. Settlement was
slow at first, but by the mid 1890s, settlers began to pour into the Prairies. This
massive influx would last until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
The Homestead System
The Dominion Lands Act of 1872 and the survey system divided the Prairie Provinces
into townships, sections (640 acres) and quarter sections (160 acres). A homesteader
could claim a quarter section for ten dollars, provided he met certain conditions.
Breaking land was a tough job often done by a team of oxen or horses and a singlefurrow walking plow. Farmers with money could buy a steam or gas engine and a gang
plow. Some American immigrants brought their machinery with them by rail. After
their own land was plowed, they might do custom work. Wheat was the main crop.
Oats was grown for animal feed.
The development of earlier-ripening Marquis Wheat was crucial for western farmers.
Marquis was tested at the Dominion Experimental Farm in Indian Head and released to
farmers in 1909. When Rosthern area farmer Seager Wheeler won first prize with
Marquis at the New York Land Show in 1911, the agricultural world took notice.
Saskatchewan’s future as a grain-growing province was bright.
The Twenties
By the 1920s, most of the available agricultural land was occupied and the land broken.
Many farmers bought more land and more farmers were able to afford a small gasoline
or kerosene-powered tractor. Crops were harvested with binders and threshing
machines, the threshing crew of 20 or more men moving from farm to farm. The first
combines arrived in western Canada in the mid to late 1920s. With a combine, fewer
men were needed to bring in the crop. Wheat was king and horses were still a
necessity for farm work.
There was a push during the 1920s towards improved livestock herds with an emphasis
on purebred animals. Cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, and poultry were exhibited at
agricultural fairs across the province. Most farmers ran a mixed operation, raising
livestock, and growing grain.
The 1920s also saw farmers look to new solutions for their marketing problems. The
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, a farmer-owned marketing co-operative, was created in
1924. The Pool built or bought hundreds of country elevators in Saskatchewan.
The Great Depression
A decade of drought combined with economic collapse during the 1930s brought most
of Saskatchewan to its knees. Farm practices of the 1920s had pulverized the soil
causing it to blow away in the hot, dry winds of the 1930s. There was little feed for
cattle; crops and gardens withered and died. Insect plagues and an outbreak of
western equine encephalitis or sleeping sickness devastated the horse population.
Experimental farms, the University of Saskatchewan and farmers themselves,
experimented with different farm practices and machines designed to minimize soil
degradation. Leaving a trash cover, planting shelterbelts, strip farming, and seeding
crested wheat grass helped to hold the soil in place.
Second World War
Rains returned to the prairies by the end of the 1930s. The War effort helped to bring
about economic recovery. Farmers were urged to raise hogs for Britain. Mechanization
on farms increased but was hampered by an emphasis on war production by Canada’s
manufacturing sector.
The Fifties And Beyond
The prosperous post-war years saw more money in the hands of the farming
community. The uses of horses for farm work declined. New machinery like rubbertired tractors, cultivators, discers, swathers, self-propelled combines, and trucks made
it possible for one farmer to farm more land. Farms grew bigger. Chemicals to control
insects and weeds and fertilizers to improve yields made farms more productive but
more expensive to operate.
Where previously farmers depended almost exclusively on machinery manufactured in
eastern Canada or the United States, a western agricultural machinery industry began
to develop. At the University of Saskatchewan, new crop varieties better able to
withstand Saskatchewan weather conditions were developed.
Toward The 21st Century
A revolution in the kinds of crops grown on western farms began with the introduction
of a new crop - canola - in the 1970s. Developed from rapeseed by scientists at the
Universities of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, canola was welcomed by western farmers.
Other crops, like lentils, field peas, and chickpeas were proven to thrive on the Prairies.
Acreage previously seeded almost exclusively to wheat now grew a host of different
crops.
In the livestock industry, farmers imported new breeds of cattle. They also began to
raise bison, elk, llamas, and even ostriches as a way to diversify their operations. Hog
production saw the growth of intensive livestock operations.
Farm practices changed radically as the shift to direct seeding, minimum or zero tillage
replaced the old practice of summer fallow. Air seeding systems developed and
perfected in Saskatchewan along with other innovations like the application of Global
Positioning System (GPS) technology to guide power units changed the way farmers
planted and harvested. A few farmers began to raise organic crops, catering to healthconscious consumers.
The trend to larger farms increased as bigger, more automated machinery made it
possible. The country elevator system virtually disappeared as grain was trucked to
inland terminals. Many rural communities disappeared as rail lines were abandoned.
At its peak in 1936, Saskatchewan boasted some 142,000 farms; by 2006, that number
had shrunk to just over 44,000.
Farming Today
Twenty-first century Saskatchewan farmers are some of the most productive in the
world. They operate sophisticated businesses with innovative but more expensive
equipment on bigger and bigger farms. But they are still at the mercy of the weather,
world markets, agricultural subsidies abroad, and a transportation system they do not
control. Making a living from farming has become increasingly difficult. More than half
of Saskatchewan farms now depend on off-farm income.
Written by Ruth Bitner, Saskatchewan Western Development Museum Collections Curator, www.wdm.ca, 2010
Reprinted with permission from author
Handout 15.2
Types of Farms in Saskatchewan
Mixed Farms
When agriculture first boomed in Saskatchewan mixed farms were the most
popular type of farms. Mixed farm means that the farmers grow crops and
raise livestock. In the early 1900’s most farms grew a limited number of
crops, mostly durum wheat, barley and oats, and had small numbers of
livestock, a few pigs, cattle, milking cow and chickens. These animals were
mostly for the farm family’s own use. The number of farms, mostly mixed
farms, peaked in 1936 when the farm population was 573,894 people. It
has steadily declined since then.
As time moved on and agriculture changed in Saskatchewan, so did the
mixed farm. Most farmers realized they could make more money raising
more of one type of grain or livestock. This meant that they didn’t just use it
for themselves anymore; they sold the majority of their products each year.
As more farm machinery was invented it meant that farmers could farm
more acres each year. So, farms began to grow in size too. This changed
the way farming was conducted in Saskatchewan.
Mixed farms still exist in Saskatchewan. Many farmers still raise livestock as
well as grain.
A farmer checking his
canola crop
Grain Farms
With the development of new farm machinery, growing crops became
easier and more productive for farmers in Saskatchewan. They were able to
sow more acres because of this machinery and farm sizes grew dramatically.
Wheat, barley, oats and rye are some of the most popular cereal crops
grown in Saskatchewan. Wheat is still a staple crop in Saskatchewan.
Triticale is another cereal crop, it is a manmade crop produced by breeding
wheat and rye together. It is grown in drought prone areas and used only
for animal feed.
Popular pulse crops are peas, chickpeas, and lentils. Saskatchewan is the
world's largest exporter of lentils, exporting 67% per cent of the world
lentils. Pulse crops provide diversification in crop production, provide farm
revenue to farmers, and lengthen crop rotation. Crop rotation is a form of
farming stewardship. It provides nutrients to the soil that are depleted
when other crops have been grown on the land.
Canola, flax, sunflower, and yellow, brown, and oriental mustard are
oilseeds grown in Saskatchewan. Since the 1970s research has developed
oilseed crops and the industry has flourished in the province. Sunflower
plants are harvested for the sunflower seed, sunflower oil and birdseed
industries too.
Dairies
Dairies are another type of farm in Saskatchewan. Although they involve
livestock and farming practices dairies are a very specialized type of
Saskatchewan farm. Just like grain farming, technology and machinery have
changed dairies dramatically since the early 1900’s.
The number of Saskatchewan dairies has steadily declined since its peak.
But, the amount and value of the products has increased as time went on.
In 2003 the average herd size was 85 cows per farm. The productivity of
each cow had increased to almost three times as much as it had a halfcentury before. This was caused by new and improved housing, feeding and
breeding practices. Producers in Saskatchewan now sell over 210 million
liters of milk a year, valued at 130 million dollars! The dairy industry adds a
lot of value to the Saskatchewan economy. They are third in job creation in
the province behind only beef and hog production.
Dairies produce cheeses, milk, yogurts, sour cream, buttermilk, butter and
other milk products.
About 95% of the dairy cattle in Saskatchewan belong to the Holstein breed.
There are also small numbers of Ayrshire and Jersey dairy cattle in the
province.
A dairy farm near
Leroy, SK
Livestock Farms
Some farms specialize in raising livestock - most commonly Beef cattle.
Beef cattle are different from dairy cattle because they are raised for meat
not for milk. Approximately 27% of all farms in Saskatchewan are beef
cattle operations and Saskatchewan has 33% of the entire Canadian Beef
herd. Some farmers have “cow-calf” farms. On these farms baby calves are
born (usually in Spring) and the female calves, called Heifers, are kept on the
farm. The male calves, called Steers, are sold to “feedlots”. Feedlots are
farms that raise the steers until they are market weight and ready to be
sold.
Beef cattle are fed a diet that includes grass, hay and grain. Farmers take
extra care to make sure the cows are fed very well before they have their
babies and while the calves are nursing. There is a lot of science that goes
into a beef animal’s diet and some scientists have a career researching the
best food for cattle!
Cattle and Sheep are important to our food supply. A lot of land is only
suitable to grow grass and hay because it is too wet, dry, rocky or the soil is
too poor. Cattle and sheep are ruminants which, means they have four
stomachs and can safely digest grass and hay. This means food can be
produced on land that would not otherwise be able to be used. This is a big
deal because our world population is increasing rapidly but the amount of
arable land that can grow food crops isn’t growing!
Sheep and cattle also help the land by aerating the soil with their hooves
which allows more oxygen and water to enter. The hooves also puncture
the soil pan and increase the ability of seeds to germinate and grow. They
provide the soil with natural fertilizer in the form of manure. Sheep are
nature’s weed eaters. They control noxious and invasive weeds without the
use of chemical or mechanical practices.
Specialty Farms
Specialty farms have gained popularity over time in Saskatchewan as many
farms have had to diversify in order to survive. There are many different
specialty farms in Saskatchewan. Many specialty producers focus on
growing products that aren’t commonly raised in Saskatchewan.
Some of Saskatchewan’s specialty crops include irrigation-grown vegetables,
native berries, wild rice, canary seeds, triticale, herbs and spices, fruit,
flowers, bedding plants, Christmas trees and hemp.
Specialized livestock farms are also popular in Saskatchewan. The products
are exported nationally (within Canada) and internationally. Some of the
specialty livestock products include bison (for meat and hides), elk (for meat
and antler velvet), Wild boar (meat), llama (for wool and meat), Alpaca (for
wool), deer (for venison and velvet), Ostrich, emu and rhea (for meat,
feathers, oil and leather), and Pregnant-mare urine (PMU) from horses.
Organic farming is also another specialty that is gaining popularity in
Saskatchewan and around the world. Organic products include flours, flax
products, consumer ready pulses, oils, hemp food, medicinal herbs, meats
and seeds. The majority of organic farmers in Saskatchewan are grain and
oilseed producers. It is expected that the organic industry will continue to
grow in Saskatchewan as the demand for organic products grows around
the world.