Kevin Laliberte
Editor, Smoky River Express

Whether fields are mucky or dry this spring, cleaning farm equipment is the best way to reduce the spread of clubroot. That’s the official word from Erin Brock, Canola Council agronomy specialist this week now that seeders, cultivators and sprayers are moving into the field en masse. She urges farmers across the prairies, and especially affected areas of Alberta, to make sure their equipment is as clean as possible. Canola growers can minimize the spread of clubroot this spring, simply by knocking off soil lumps and sweeping loose soil off machinery, she adds. Clubroot can spread only through resting spores in the soil or in canola plant material containing galls. Resting spores are most likely to spread via contaminated soil carried from field to field by equipment, she says. “That’s why it’s important to clean wheel wells, tires, the undercarriage and any other areas where dirt really accumulates,” Brock says. “I recommend a power washer with either hot water or steam. Then finish off with a weak disinfectant of 1-2 per cent active ingredient bleach solution.” She admits this is a time-consuming extra headache at seeding but “it’s a must – and not just a quick slosh of bleach on dirty tires.” Because organic matter deactives bleach, Brock advises growers to remove all the soil first, use clean – not dugout – water, and make sure the bleach solution remains on machinery for at least 10-15 minutes before rinsing. She also recommends planting a grassed area near the field entrance on which to do the cleaning. Use an air line from the air drill fan to make it easier to blow off dust. Clubroot is a serious disease of canola, mustard and other crops in the cabbage family. There are no measures to control it in canola. It was first found in canola fields near Edmonton in 2003. By the end of 2007, clubroot was present in 10 municipalities around Edmonton and one county in southern Alberta. It was added as a declared pest to Alberta’s Agricultural Pests Act. Farmers in the Smoky River region were made aware of the potential threat of clubroot during an informational meeting at Club Alouette last month. Emergency Preparedness Week There’s an old saying in Alberta: wait one minute and the weather will change. The same theory applies to emergencies and disasters, which can strike anywhere at anytime. Are you prepared? Do you have a 72-hour kit? These are all valid questions we should be asking ourselves each year at this time in conjunction with Emergency Preparedness Week. Educating yourself and your family on how to cope on your own for the first 72 hours of an emergency is the first step to being prepared. It’s up to each of us to learn about and prepare for all types of emergencies. Emergency Preparedness Week encourages Albertans to know the weather risks in their region, make emergency plans, and get emergency kits to help prepare for emergency situations. The Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) helps Albertans, municipalities and other partners mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies, including severe weather. The agency provides Albertans with the information they need to stay safe in times of an emergency and encourages individuals and families to be ready when adverse weather hits. ASERT manages and co-ordinates effective response to environmental emergencies across Alberta. ASERT is guided by the emergency management principles of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. These core principles support the team’s program delivery areas, which include business continuity, consequence and crisis management. Be prepared - help your firefighters and emergency management officials to help you.

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