Episode Details

In episode 6 of Water in Southern Alberta, Jenny and Bob Morrison are joined by three guests: Dwight Popowich, Julian Vandenberg, and John Smith, who represent different farming sectors—dryland, irrigated, and rangeland farming. The discussion highlights the challenges faced by farmers, including water shortages, drought conditions, and the impact of climate change on water resources. The guests share their experiences with water management, the economic pressures of farming, and the mental health challenges within the agricultural community. They emphasize the importance of community support, policy advocacy, and technological advancements in sustaining farming operations. The conversation underscores the interconnectedness of water, agriculture, and community well-being, advocating for greater awareness and support for rural farmers.

Introductions to Dwight Popowich, Julian Vandenberg, and John Smith

Jenny (00:04):

Welcome to The Gravity Well Podcast. I am your host, Jenny Ami. Here you break down heavy ideas with me to understand their complexities and connections. Our mission is to work through dilemmas together in conversation and process. I acknowledge that I live on the traditional territory of Treaty 7 and Metis districts 5 and 6. The treaties and self-governance agreements established by indigenous peoples were created to honour the laws of the land, maintain balance with nature by giving back and uphold reciprocal relationships. This knowledge and intention are what guide The Gravity Well conversation. I ask for genuine dialogue, real hearts, and openness to different perspectives. This is your invitation to find common ground with me.

This podcast is dedicated to the natural world, our children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and all future generations. The gravity well is on YouTube and streaming wherever you get your podcasts. Join us at thegravitywell.net. Welcome, I’m really excited to have Bob join me with three other guests today, which I’ll get into in a second. This is still in the first half of season two if you’re a subscriber. This is episode 14 of season two, and it’s also episode six of Bob Morrison and I’s Water and Southern Alberta Podcast miniseries. This episode is going to cover dryland, irrigated and rangeland farming. We have three guests today. Dwight Popowich is a dryland farmer in two hills in the Red Deer Basin and is the chair of the Polluter Pay Federation, of which I am a part. Dwight has been on the show before talking about liabilities last year. Julian is an irrigation farmer in the Enchant region in Bow Basin and is a city firefighter.

That’s how…my husband actually introduced Julian to me, a few or actually 2023. And he said, you need to learn about rural Alberta and you need to learn about farming. And I was saying to Julian, that’s what I’ve been doing ever since, basically. Yeah, he was right. And then lastly, John is a rancher. John Smith, excuse me, is a rancher in the MD of Ranch Lands and Willow Creek. He straddles both and is the fellow defender of clean water. John and I have met at many protests against the coal mining proposals in Eastern slopes. I’m really pleased to have all of you guys here. Why are we doing this? Just quickly for your background, we want to first of all give the general population some knowledge. I’m very ignorant in farming and farming practices. I am very excited to learn here, help people that work in water.

There’s a lot of conversations that happen in silos. We’re trying to break those silos down. And then lastly, concerned citizens. Like myself, who’s concerned about it, we were talking earlier about water shortages that we saw last year, for example. We know there’s more drought happening in southern Alberta. The Milk River Irrigation District is shut down for the year, for example. There’s a lot of things happening in water that are