By Dori Modney with files from The Canadian Press

In the Field – Protecting a vital resource and the debate over bread spread

Apr 7, 2017 | 6:13 PM

LETHBRIDGE –  Agricultural issues on Country 95 ran the gamut over the past week from verified beef to sugar beets and soybeans

However, there is another important factor that is considered the lifeblood of agricultural communities.  Water.

Without water, life doesn’t exist and in an area prone to drought conditions, it is extremely important to protect a critical resource.  For most of Southern Alberta, that resource stems from the Oldman Watershed — and, the Oldman Watershed Council has gathered support to help protect the resource.

On Friday (Apr 7), the City of Lethbridge and the University were among about a dozen signators of the Oldman Watershed Council’s Southern Alberta Water Charter. 

Other signators included Lethbridge County, Cardston County, Cypress County, the Town of Taber and the Municipal Districts of Taber, Willow Creek, Pincher Creek, and the Milk River Watershed Council.

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The Charter is encouraging individual and corporate stewardship of waterways. 

The Taber Irrigation District will be building wetland out of an old canal and planting cat tails in May and June, while the Milk River Watershed Council will be working to restore stream banks.

Residents are being asked to buy-in to helping clean garbage from waterways and storm drains and to check community websites for up-coming activities and special projects. 

 Activities associated with the Southern Alberta Water Charter will begin on the May long weekend and continue throughout the summer.

Margarine versus Butter —

It’s been a debate without end for decades.  Which is healthier?

Margarine’s fortunes seem to be taking another sad turn, with the owner of Country Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter looking for someone to take the brands off its hands.

Officials at Unilever say the products are suffering from soft sales in the United States and other developed markets.

Margarine enjoyed popularity for decades before research emerged in the 1990s about the harms of the trans fats.

Many manufacturers have since reformulated their spreads sold in tubs to remove trans fats, but the bad health associations have persisted.

 Dairy Dispute —

This dispute could pit Canada against the U-S.  Dairy farms in Wisconsin and other states could be forced out of business as early as May because of a trade dispute that’s halted the export of their milk to Canada.

At issue is a U.S-Canada dispute over what’s called “ultra-filtered milk,” a protein liquid concentrate used to make cheese. Until recently, it had entered Canada duty-free from the United States.

But Canadian dairy farmers objected, resulting in Ontario and other provinces applying import taxes.

About 75 farms in Wisconsin have already been told that Grassland Dairy Products of Greenwood will no longer buy their milk starting in less than 30 days.

The National Milk Producers Federation said losses for the dairy industries in Wisconsin and New York alone could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.