The 2013 Alberta Soil Science Workshop was held from February 19-21 in Lethbridge, with the theme 'Futursol: A New World Order.' Over the course of three days, participants heard from keynote speakers, plenary speakers and poster sessions related to what's happening in Alberta related to soil - from agriculture to forestry to land reclamation. The Alberta Land-use Knowledge Network was pleased to record many of the sessions from ASSW 2013.
At the 2013 Alberta Soil Science Workshop, Gerald Ontkean provides a history of the science of assessing soils for irrigation suitability from 1915 with the enactment of Alberta's Irrigation Act. Gerald describes the current process of soil assessment and classification that covers all irrigated lands in Alberta (within irrigation districts, private irrigation projects and municipal wastewater irrigation).
Gerald Ontkean is a Soil and Water Specialist with the Farm Water and Irrigation Division of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Lethbridge, Alberta.