What We’re Reading | Restoring marginal lands can be a long-term money-maker

New conservation program offers $125 per acre to seed unproductive annually cropped lands to forages

By Jennifer Blair, Alberta Farmer Express

Alberta producers are finding a way to make their marginal lands pay, with a little help from Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC).

“Not all parts of a field are created equal,” said Darwin Chambers, head of DUC’s conservation programs in Alberta. “There can be certain areas of a field — often low-lying areas — that just aren’t profitable due to poor growing conditions. So producers are looking for alternatives to turn that land into something that produces benefits and finding that conservation has a place there.”

The benefits of wetland conservation and restoration are well known: filtering and storing water; building biodiversity; creating a buffer for drought or flood events. But in many cases, farmers don’t even realize they have wetland restoration opportunities, said Chambers.

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‘What We’re Reading’ is a quick look at some of the issues and insights Alberta Beef Producers’ content creators and editors are reading to stay up-to-date, to broaden perspectives, and to explore issues relevant to the agriculture industry.