The Agricultural Service Board (ASB) is made up of County Council. Together with the Agricultural Fieldman, they address the current local issues affecting agricultural production. They develop policies and implement programs for the benefit of farmers and the environment. The results of these programs and related services are summarized in an Annual Report, which is published in the County Commentator. When proactive programs are not effective, enforcement of four provincial acts can be implemented. More information on ag. service boards in Alberta can be found at the Ag Service Board Home Page. The website of the Association of Alberta Agricultural Fieldmen (AAAF) is another good site to check out for related information.

Every year the ASB attends the Provincial Agricultural Service Board Conference where the members receive industry updates and take part in making resolutions to various levels of government in support of agriculture. Click here to see current and past resolutions

Mandate

The four Provincial Acts from which the Agricultural Service Board and Fieldman get their powers from are as follows:

• Agricultural Service Board Act
• Agricultural Pests Act
• Soil Conservation Act
• Weed Control Act

In Southern Alberta, it is not uncommon to experience cycles of freezing and thawing, along with high winds.  These conditions can make soil susceptible to erosion.  When these weather conditions occur, producers are encouraged to monitor fields for erosion and take steps to prevent future issues. 

Soil erosion can be devastating as it causes substantial damage to agricultural land and subsequent losses in crop production.  For each inch of topsoil lost to erosion, crop yields can be lowered by several bushels per acre.  Erosion also removes nutrients from the soil, making it less productive.

The Agriculture Service Board is mandated by the Alberta Soil Conservation Act to “prevent the loss or deterioration of soil from taking place.” 

Allowing your soil to blow and erode is an infraction under the Soil Conservation Act.  To learn more about this, click the link: Article: Yes, Blowing Soil Breaks a Law

If a field has begun to experience soil erosion, there are many steps you can take.  The County of Fortymile has knowledgeable staff that can assist in preventing and reducing soil blowing as a result of erosion.   Please do not hesitate to call the County if assistance is needed.  

For more information on soil erosion, click the following links:

• Emergency Wind Erosion Control Measures (Government of Alberta)
• Article: Dollars Blowing in the Wind
• Article: Economics of Agricultural Blow Dirt
• Article: Don't Blow Good Neighbour Relations
• Article: Tillage is Problematic on the Prairies

The Agricultural Service Board sponsors a bursary to assist County students planning a post secondary education in an Agricultural related field. Click here for the policy, there is no form, instead submit a letter with the required documentation to [email protected]. Deadline for applying is September 1 of each year.

There are also Scholarships available through the local Agricultural Societies, please contact your local Ag Society (Foremost, Bow Island, Burdett) for a  nomination. Click here for a link to the online form.

There are also Scholarships available through the Association of Alberta Agricultural Fieldmen. Click here for more information.

The County provides maintenance in most cemeteries within the County with the exception of the Village of Foremost, Town of Bow Island, Burdett Cemetery and all Hutterite Cemeteries. Maintenance is performed on 28 Cemeteries across the County and consists of mowing grass twice a season, trimming or planting of trees and maintaining appearance of fences and signs.

Click here to download a PDF of the map

Information on gravesites located within the County boundaries can be found by contacting or visiting the following websites: “The Medicine Hat Genealogical Society” or  “findagrave.com”

The County of Forty Mile No.8 would like to give Special Thanks to the “Medicine Hat Genealogy Society” and “Find a Grave” for their work.

We graciously thank all people involved in supplying information on cemetery burials now and in the future.

Free of charge but landowner must supply at least 2 labourers to aide county staff.

The ASB is now offering free grain bag rolling services for landowners in the county. Ag department staff will roll used grain bags and transport them to the Foremost transfer site. Grain bags must be free of snow and debris before rolling and landowners must supply at least 2 people to help county staff. Bags can either be rolled in field after emptying or off of extractors (Note, we ask that loose bags from previous years be unrolled prior to county staff arriving).

Hay Agreement

Anyone who would like to hay the grass along County roadsides are required to contact the Main Office for a hay permit which must be filled out and returned by April 30 each year. The permit is free and gives us a chance to avoid mowing or spraying prior to haying taking place. The permit is for County roads only and permits for primary and secondary highways must be obtained from Volker Stevin. Failure to obtain proper permits may result in the ditch being mowed or sprayed.

Get Updated Agreement by going to the Forms page and looking under the Ag section.

No-Spray Agreement

Ratepayers who do not want herbicides used along roadsides adjacent to their land may obtain a No-spray Agreement with the County by contacting the Agricultural Fieldman at (403)867-3530. The landowner will be required to post “Do Not Spray” signs in a visible location along their land a new agreement is required each year. Failure to obtain proper permits may result in the ditch being sprayed.

Get Updated Agreement by going to the Policies Page and looking under the Ag service Board Policies section and find Weed Control Agreement.

Alberta Agriculture has a tremendous amount of information on their website; however it can be difficult to navigate. Below are some links to useful information.

• Agriculture and Climate Information Viewer
• Agrasid Soil Information Viewer
• Crop Calculators
• Environmental Farm Plan
• Water Pumping Program
• Alberta Farm Implement Act
• Growing Forward

No Till Drill 

The ASB has a John Deere 1590 no-tillage grass drill available for rent. This drill is 15 feet wide with 7.5 inch spacing and has separate boxes for grass seed, alfalfa, and fertilizer. The drill will be delivered to your farm or field. For more information and availability call the Ag Shop at (403)867-3939.

Tree Mover 

The ASB also provides a tree-moving service using a truck-mounted tree spade, capable of moving trees with a 6-8 inch trunk diameter. Underground utilities must be marked in both locations where trees are to be moved from or to be planted, by contacting Alberta 1st Call 1-800-242-3447 prior to any trees being moved. Contact the Shop at (403)867-3939 to set an appointment for moving.

Cattle Scale 

The Ag Dept has a portable cattle scale available for use. This scale is free for 4H club. Call Ag Shop for availability at (403)867-3939.

1 Ton or ATV Sprayer 

For rates on the above services please see the Rental and Service Agreement located on the Forms page under the Ag section.

The ASB provides a spraying service for landowners to spot noxious weeds (Canada Thistle, Perennial Sow Thistle, Feild Bindweed etc.) on their property. This service is not  available for general control such as around yards, lawns or chemfallow. Landowners with uncommom noxious weeds and prohibited noxious weeds such as Knapweed, Leafy Spurge, Scentless Chamomile, and Baby’s Breath may be eligible for free assistance in control or eradication. Please contact Ag Fieldman for more information.

As part of our overall Weed and Vegetation Management Program within the County, the Agriculture Service Board will begin spraying as soon as weather permits in the spring and continue throughout the Summer and Fall. 

Click here for pesticide spraying program.

Weed control is the largest program we run. Currently we have two 3- ton spray trucks and three 1-ton spray trucks all are equipped with GPS tracking to map where and when pesticides are applied. We also have an ATV spraying crew that does weed control in sensitive environmental areas such a creek and river bottoms to control leafy spurge and knapweed. The ATV crew also looks after general weed control on County property, hamlets, parks, and cemeteries.

The roadside spray program has a goal of spraying every road in the County once and if time and budgets allow we perform a second application in the irrigated areas and high traffic dryland areas. We avoid blanket spraying roadsides and instead spot spray individual weeds in order to reduce pesticide use. Our current policy is to not spray directly adjacent to a residence or farmyard unless requested by the resident. We currently perform all weed control along primary and secondary highways within the County under contract to Volker Stevin.

The PFRA shelterbelt Program was discontinued several years ago. The program was originally started to establish shelterbelts across the prairies in an effort to prevent soil erosion and continued as an incentive to adopt beneficial management practices and environmental stewardship.

Many residents receive order forms in the mail from the Alberta Shelterbelt Program out of Bowden, this is a reputable private company but is not affiliated with the County.

Mature Trees can be purchased locally from Dendron Services in Bow Island, and bare root and potted trees are available for purchase at Bow Island Greenhouse. For our area we recommend Ash, Elm, and Poplar trees for establishing shelterbelts when water is available. Green Ash are long lived and show good drought tolerance and relatively fast growth with irrigation, there are few pests established in this area.

Elm trees are long lived and fast growing with irrigation but are not drought tolerant, the major pest threat is Dutch Elm Disease which is not present in Alberta, a strict pruning ban from April 1 to October 31 prevents introduction of this disease. Poplar trees are fast growing but not long lived, stick with newer varieties such as Prairie Sky and Assiniboine as they have the best disease resistance. Some specialty poplars are very susceptible to schlerotinia in the irrigated areas of the County.

Fusarium Graminearum FG (Fusarium Head Blight FHB)

The ASB is trying to increase awareness of the threat of FG in our County. In summer of 2010 Alberta Agriculture conducted a random survey of cereal crops to test for FG in the north half of the County. The results show that the incidence of this disease is very high, probably due to the wet weather conditions. This disease is prevalent in most parts of the world and can cause severe yield loss and downgrading of quality. Alberta has been relatively free of this disease until recently, the survey results indicate it is now well established in the County of Forty Mile, MD of Taber, and County of Lethbridge.

Many area farmers are familiar with FHB as it is caused by different species of Fusarium, however the graminearum species is much more aggressive and can lead to much higher financial losses. Manitoba estimates it has cost over $1 billion in losses since the 1990’s.

Farmers are encouraged to adopt the following recommendations:

• Test all cereal seed and implement a zero tolerance approach
• Use a seed treatment with Fusarium on the label.
• Avoid irrigating during the flowering period as moisture and humidity allows the disease to infect the heads.
• Consider using a foliar fungicide just prior to flowering period; follow the label directions for FHB control/ suppression.
• Use crop rotations as FG will carryover in straw residues, keep in mind that this disease is primarily spread by wind.

Click Here for Alberta Agriculture website on FG.

Noxious Weeds

The Agricultural Service Board has a mandate to control Noxious and Prohibited Noxious weeds under authority of the Weed Act.  Our primary concerns are knapweed and leafy spurge as they are found in relatively low numbers in our County and have the potential to cause serious damage. Our staff specializes in identifying and controlling the uncommon and highly invasive weeds that many farmers are not familiar with. Please contact the Ag Fieldman for assistance with identifying Noxious weeds. The Invasive Plants page on the Alberta Governement website is an excellent resource for identifying invasive weeds.

Report a Rat

If you suspect you have seen a rat or have rats on your property contact the Ag Fieldman immediately. We will come and do an inspection as soon as possible.

Coyote Control

Agriculture Staff are able to distribute a limited amount of toxicants for control of predatory coyotes under very strict conditions. In order to release toxicants we must have a confirmed kill of livestock. The objective of the program is to eliminate the coyote(s) that have developed the habit of killing livestock, general population reduction is not a service we offer.