ICDC

By the 1950s, the full effects of the federal drought-proofing initiatives led by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) established in 1935 with expanded irrigation acreage. Twenty six water storage reservoirs were developed in the southwest and irrigated forage production was encouraged to stabilize the soil and ensure feed supplies of local farms. The return of men from after the war effort, the public discussion, final approval and construction of the South Saskatchewan River Project all led to a rapid expansion of irrigated acres in the 1950s and 1960s, when 61,000 acres were added to provincial totals. Growth of irrigated acres was sustained in Saskatchewan after the completion and opening of the Gardiner Dam in 1967, the formation of a number of irrigation districts around Lake Diefenbaker, and the consequent addition of nearly 220,000 new irrigated acres throughout the province.

Also known as: Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation, Irrigation Saskatchewan

Primary location: Outlook