EXTENT OF AGRICULTURAL

DRAINAGE NEEDS IN QUEBEC

INTRODUCTION

Although the Province of Quebeccovers approximately 335.3 million acres, there are only 5.2 million acres under cultivation or 1.5percent. The total territory extends from the 45th to the 62ndparallel; the land under cultivation, however, is limited to the49th.

These statistics, when compared to the rest of Canada, indicate that Quebec is the largestof the 10 Canadian provinces, butthat its area under cultivationranks fifth. The land cultivated islocated along the shores of theSt. Lawrence River and its tributaries. Quebec agriculture revolves mainly around the dairy industry with 90 percent of the cropland being used for the productionof hay and cereals.

South of the Laurentian Plateauwhich covers the upper nine tenthsof the province, the St. Lawrencelowlands spread on either side ofthe River and form a triangularplain extending from Hull to Quebec City and down to Lake Cham-plain. This is the main agricultural region of the province. Itwas invaded by the Champlain seatoward the end of the Pleistoceneera, to which phenomenon it owesits large deposits of clay and sand(3). The clay soils, when properlymanaged, are amongthe most productive soils in the province. Mostof the management problems areconcerned with soil water (13).A study by Frechette (5) shows thatthese soils are located in an areawith a frost-free period of 130 daysor more, whereas the other soilsof the province are located incolder climes (figure 1).

An analysis of the soil surveyreports of five counties by OueUette (10) shows that the percentage of fertile soils in eachcounty increases from east towest, being highest in the St. Law-ence Lowlands (table 1).

by

Pierre-J. Jutros

Member C.S.A.E.

Department of Agricultural EngineeringLaval University, Quebec 10, Quebec

TABLE I - PERCENTAGE OF LAND AREA UNDER CULTIVATION WITH

A RELATIVE HIGH LEVEL OF FERTILITY (from OueUette)

County Percent area with highfertility

Levis 11

Drummond 17

Bagot 32

Berthier 38

Chateauguay 44

TABLE II PRIORITY WITH WHICH UNDERDRAINAGE SHOULDBE UNDERTAKEN IN THE COUNTIES

First priority

Argenteuil

Arthabaska*

Bagot

Beauharnois

Berthier

ChamblyChateauguayCompton

Deux-MontagnesDrummond

HuntingdonIberville

Joliette

Lac St-Jean Est

Laprairie

LfAssomptionLevis

MissisquoiMontcalm

Montmorency*Napierville

Nicolet

Quebec*

Richelieu

Rouville

St-Hyacinthe

St-Jean - Iberville

Shefford

Sherbrooke

SoulangesStanstead

Terrebonne

Vaudreuil

Vercheres

Yaraaska

Second priority

Bellechasse

Brome

ChamplainChicoutimi

Dorchester

Lac St-Jean Ouest

Lotbiniere

MaskinongeMegantic

PapineauPontiac

Portneuf

Richmond

Riviere-du-LoupSt-Maurice

Wolfe

* Soil Surveys not Available

Third priority

Abitibi

Beauce

Bonaventure

Charlevoix

Frontenac

Gaspe EstGaspe OuestGatineau

Hull

Iles-de-la-Madeleine

Kamouraska

Labelle

L' Islet

Matane

MatapediaMontmagnyRimouski

SaguenayTemiscamingueTemiscouata

CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING VOL. 9, 1967 117

A summation of the areas suffering from imperfect or poordrainage in each of the five counties studied revealed that the percentage of problem soils is fairlyconstant, varying between 65 and70 percent of the total farm land.

The value of agricultural products sold per acre in the Montreal region is approximatelythree times that which is sold ineither Abitibi or the lower St.Lawrence regions (2). Even at that,this amount is extremely low andan intensification of productionwill be necessary through under-drainage, fertilization and thegrowing of intensive crops. Theincrease in yield and income fromthese flat lands will release regions of sloping land for grassland farming-or reforestation.

HISTORY OF DRAINAGE IN

QUEBEC

Ever since 1912 the Quebec Department of Agriculture has defrayed approximately half the costof underdrainage in the province(9). The Provincial Governmentowns and operates 12 machines outof a total of 15 machines in theprovince. Farmers are charged aminimal fee on a per foot basis.Although this Government involvement will tend to disappear gradually, it has helped maintain a highstandard of quality of tile installations, a condition which is oftenlacking in states and provinceswhere private contractors operatewithout official supervision.

An Act, similar to the TileDrainage Act of Ontario (6), waspassed in 1920. The individualmunicipality could pass a by-lawto establish a credit with the Provincial Government and loan moneyto a farmer at a low rate of interest for a period not exceeding20 years. This Act was never usedto advantage and farmers haveusually borrowed according toterms set out in the Farm Im

provement Act. This allows themto borrow up to $7,000. frombanks at current interest rates,less 3 percent. The loan periodis for 10 years.

Although a total of only 42,000acres of land had been underdrained by the end of 1965, theincrease has been appreciable inrecent years, as indicated by theexponential growth pattern expressed by figure 2. This growthcan be traced to a greater emphasis placed on drainage by ex

118

tension personnel, to a greaternumber of drainage machines inoperation, and to a gradual increase in yearly output per machine since 1960 (figure 3) (11).

In adjoining areas such as Ontario, although there has beengreater emphasis in underdrainage activities during the years ofgood farm prices and followingwet years (6), there has been asteady interest in underdrainage.During the period as far back as1906 to 1919, 18,609 miles ofdrain were installed for the improvement of 153,531 acres. Irwin(7) estimated, in 1961, that therewere approximately 1.25 millionacres of land already underdrainedin Ontario, based on tile produc

tion figures. Farmers surveysplaced this estimate at 2.2 millionacres.

In order to determine whetherthe total rate of increase in drainage installation is sufficient toachieve a sizable portion of theunderdrainage needs of the Province of Quebec, in the next decade or so, and to help plan research and extension work, asurvey was effected.

PROCEDURE AND RESULTS

The work was divided into threesteps:

I - establishing which countiescould economically support thedrainage projects,

TABLE III — COMPARISON OF ACREAGE THAT WOULD BENEFITFROM UNDERDRAINAGE, WITH AVAILABLE FARM LAND

County Total Area of Improved Land* Total Land under Good and Fair

all Farm Land* (Acres) Cultivation* Improved Land(Acres) (Acres) that would

Benefit from

Drainage **(Acres)

Argenteull 127,646 66,392 39,824 21,600Bagot 215,629 169,227 122,351 86,400Beauharnois 60,984 55,566 39,092 50,600Berthier 160,135 99,604 63,467 48,700Chambly 43,718 39,751 31,611 33,200

Chateauguay 136,338 103,747 76,764 45,800Compton 332,419 131,782 88,304 33,400Deux-Montagnes 129,718 98,103 71,503 59,800

Drummond 288,074 178,313 119,226 67,000Huntingdon 188,983 106,732 74,082 32,900

Iberville 102,163 91,084 65,871 62,500

Jollette 176,322 119,061 74,398 49,600

Lac St-Jean Est 155,350 103,222 63,623 38,800

Lapralrle 72,728 67,552 56,338 48,800

L'Assomption 122,107 92,808 67,034 71,500

Levi8 108,995 66,608 43,640 25,100

Missisquoi 198,054 121,121 87,583 58,600

Montcalm 94,083 60,603 40,517 39,200

Napierville 88,893 75,176 61,240 43,800

Nicolet 351,646 244,732 160,738 72,200

Richelieu 91,252 74,203 48,650 42,800

Rouville 128,537 107,997 76,556 53,600

St-Hyacinthe 151,566 124,243 89,010 72,400

St-Jean 90,995 77,899 62,273 76,600

Shefford 328,871 173,505 114,008 72,400

Sherbrooke 71,317 36,955 21,571 1,100

Soulanges 73,082 65,095 50,519 65,500

Staustead 200,637 87,844 62,500 30,300

Terrebonne 114,395 63,883 39,946 29,700

Vaudreuil 83,336 65,589 47,187 41,700

Vercheres 110,051 93,795 70,543 77,300

Yamaska 191,980 152,969 107,704 99,400

Total

32 counties of 4,790,004 3,215,161 2,237,673 1,662,400

first priority

Total for the

province 14,198,492 7,864,176 5,213,302 3,180,000

* Source: 1961 Census of Canada

** Areas measured with Bruning Areagraph Chart No,4850 - Degree of precisionat least 90 percent.

CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING VOL. 9, 1967

II - determining the number ofacres in need of underdrainagein each county.

Ill - questioning farmers to obtain their reactions concerningunderdrainage.

1.- It has been recognized thatin some locations, even good soilsimperfectly or poorly drained donot warrant the added cost ofartificial drainage (7).

As pointed out by Manson andRost (8): "Not all wet land shouldbe drained. Since drainage is ex

pensive, the benefits must be carefully weighed against the cost. Itis good economy to hire the bestdrainage engineer available toevaluate the problem,\

The counties of the Provincewere therefore grouped into threecategories, accordingto the priority with which the drainage workshould be executed. The criteriafor rating the counties involved thepercentage of commercial farms,the percentage of these farms onwhich fruits, vegetables and fieldcrops are the main crop and thepercentage of farms on which the

TABLE IV - ANSWERS TO FARMERS SURVEYRELATIVE TO DRAINAGE

ITEM PERCENTAGE

<100

1. Size of farm (acres) 100 to 200>200

2. Soil improvements contemplated inthe future

a) Underdrainage

b) Other

3. Area already underdrained

4. Unaware of drainage problem as itaffects crop yields

5. Considers underdrainage too expensive

6. Aware of technical and financial

assistance available from Dept. ofAgriculture

7. Extension personnel had previouslydiscussed drainage with farmer

8. Outlet ditches non-existant or too

shallow for underdrainage

9. Age group <2525 to 40

40 to 60

>60

10. Supplements earnings by outside work

11. Educational level a) Primaryb) Secondary

12. Subscribes to farm journals

13. Follows farm programs on radio and tv

CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING VOL. 9, 1967

33

48

19

26

10

1.6

45

53

27

21

46

1

27

56

16

19

74

26

89

56

value of products sold is above$5,000. per year. These valueswere obtained from the 1961 Census of Canada (1) and the classification appears in table II.

Establishing priority by nomeans suggests eliminating activity in all but the 32 counties ofthe first group. The requests offarmers in groups 2 and 3 counties should be evaluated on theirrespective merits and extensionpersonnel in these areas shouldmake their recommendationsaccordingly. However, because oftheir economic advantage, counties in group 1 should receiveconcentrated extension efforts,equipment and technical services.

2.- The counties of the firstgroup, except for three, have allbeen mapped and classified according to their suitability foragricultural use (12). Their drainage characteristics are also indicated. Soils rated lower thanfair do not usually warrant underdrainage. By transposing on arealmaps all soils with a fair to goodrating with either poor or im-perfecf drainage, it was possibleto compute the total area of improved land that would benefit fromdrainage. A Bruning AreagraphNo. 4850 with 90 percent precision was used for this purpose.The results of these computationsare presented in table III.

3.- To determine if farmershave the necessary human andphysical resources to solve theirdrainage problems, 379 farmswere visited at random in 24 ofthe 32 counties of the first group.All farms were located on acreagecomputed under section "2"above\ The questionnaire was patterned after that used in conjunction with a somewhat similarsurvey carried out by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Michigan State University

(4). The answers to this questionnaire appear in table IV.

DISCUSSION

Analyses of soil surveys, geologic formations, weather conditions, general farm economicpatterns and population concentration show a definite advantagein emphasizing drainage activities in the St. Lawrence lowlands.There are approximately 1.66 million acres of good and fair improved land that would benefitfrom underdrainage in that sector

119

and in the remaining counties ofthe first category. An estimateof the total area of land that wouldbenefit from drainage on a provincial-wide basis can be obtainedfrom the data shown in Table III.Based on the ''total land undercultivation figures", a conversion

5.21 millionfactor of

2.24 millionor 2.33 can be applied to the "32county" total of 1.66 million acres,yielding (1.66 x 2.33) or 3.85 million acres.

A more conservative estimateof the total area of land thatwould benefit from drainage canbe obtained by referring to theproportion of land tile drained inthe 32 counties given first priority, to the total provincial areatile drained. At the completion ofthe 1965 season, records showedthat out of a total of 42, 000acres tile drained, 22,000 werelocated in the 32 counties in question, giving a conversion factor

42,000of or 1.91.

22,000Applying this factor of 1.91 to the"32 county" total of 1.66 millionacres yields 3.18 million acres.

Relying on this last estimate,42,000 x 100

only = 1.333,180,000

percent of the underdrainageneeds of the province have beenmet. This agrees closely with thevalue of 1.6 percent from the farmer's survey and reported intable IV, question 3.

A more accurate estimate willbe possible when the other counties of the province are surveyed.This work will be accelerated bythe use of the Geographic Information System (GeoIS) of the Canadian land inventory developed bythe federal and provincial governments and to be in operation inthe fall of 1967.

Accomplishments for the period1962 to 1964 have coincided withthe proposed rate of drain installation (figure 2). A slight deviationfrom the curve occurred in 1965due to a decrease in output permachine (figure 3) and to the insufficient number of new drainagemachines added to the fleet thatyear.

In order for the 1980 goal tobe met, drainage contractors willbe needed in ever increasing numbers to take over the work cur-

120

Ch a rr\ y I<ii r,

UNITED STATESr

PROVINCE OF QUEBECRELATIVE VALUE OF

AGRICULTURAL LAND

Fertility high-Frost free period> 130 days

s Fertility fair-Frost free period >100 days

^Fertility poor-Frost-free period <100 days^ Forest

( FROM FRE C HETTE )

Figure 1. Relative value of agricultural soils of the Province of Quebec.

rently being done by the Government.

The farm survey shows a definite need to intensify extensionactivities. Too few farmers areaware of the need for underdrainage and the benefits to be derivedthrough investments in soil watercontrol measures.

Increased activity will be neededfrom the standpoint of outletditches, and this must be consid-

E20

FEET OFDRAIN INSTALLED

YEARLY

4CUMULATIVE AREA

DRAINED

' • • ' » • » 1 I ' 1 1 I » ' '

Figure 2. Proposed rate of tile installationsto complete 50 percent drainage needsby 1980.

200,000.

10 0,000.

963 1964 1965

Figure 3. Average number of feet of tiledrains installed annually per machinein Quebec.

ered as an adjunct to underdrainage rather than a separate entity,as it has been in the past. Forexample, in 1965-66 approximately 4.5 million dollars werespent for surface drainage in Quebec whereas only 0.7 million wereinvested in underdrainage. Thesefigures include both the farmer'sshare and the government's share.

A reorientation and intensification will also be needed incultural patterns to increase farmer income in the St. Lawrence

CONTINUED ON" PAGE 125

CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING VOL. 9, 1967

CREDIT TO GIVE FOR RAIN . . .

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 107

els, in order to determine howbest to give credit for rain usingthe balance-sheet method. Suitable procedures were found to be(a) while irrigating, to give creditfor each day's rain only up to theevapotranspiration for the day;(b) between irrigations, to givecredit for rain only up to the balance on the balance sheet at cessation of irrigation. Model studiesalso indicated that a negative balance just prior to irrigation shouldbe carried over to the first dayof irrigation, but a positive balanceshould not. The procedures thusdeveloped were applied to thescheduling of irrigations on 17orchards in the Okanagan Valleyover a four-year period. Scheduling reduced the irrigatingtime andthe water required by 36%. Ofthis 36% savings, 29% of it wasattributed to rain and 71% to coolweather. Of the rain that fellduring the irrigation season, about48% was lost by deep percolation.The procedures proved to be quitesuitable for practical application.

REFERENCES

1. Ayers, H.D. Water Deficitand Irrigation Needs in Ontario. Can. Agr. Eng. 7:37-39. 1965.

2. Bartels, L. F. Estimation ofIrrigation Need. VictoriaJour. Dept. Agr. reprint.1964.

3. Hagood, M. A. Irrigation Scheduling from Evaporation Reports. Washington Agr. Exp.Sta. Ext. Circ. 341. 1964.

4. Korven, H.C. and Wilcox, J.C.Correlation between Evaporation from Bellani Plates andEvapotranspiration from Orchards. Can. Jour. Plant Sci.45: 132-138. 1965.

5. Ligon, J.T., Benoit, G. R. andElam, A. B. Procedure forEstimating Occurrence of SoilMoisture Deficiency and Excess. Trans. Amer. Soc. Agr.Eng. 8: 219-222. 1965.

6. Robertson, G. W. and Holmes,R.M. Estimating IrrigationWater Requirements fromMeteorological Data. Can.Dept. Agr. Proc. Bull. 1956

7. Thornthwaite, C. W. andMather, J.R. The Water Balance. Drexel Inst. Tech. Pub.in Climatology 8:1-104. 1955.

8. Wilcox, J.C. Effects of Scheduling of Irrigation of Orchards on Water and Labor

Requirements. Can. Agr. Eng.9: 51-53. 1967.

9. Wilcox, J.C. Effects of SoilTexture, Net Evapotranspiration and Other Factors onIrrigation Requirements ofOrchards as Determined by aScheduling Procedure. Can.Jour. Soil Sci. (In Press).

EXTENT OF AGRICULTURAL . . .

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 120

lowlands where climate and soil

potential favor investments inunderdrainage.

SUMMARY

Conservative estimates showthat 1.5 million acres could beunderdrained advantageously inthe better agricultural counties ofQuebec. Extrapolation would bringthis area to slightly more than3 million acres on a provincial-wide basis.

By following the annual rate ofincrease in drainage installationsproposed in figure 2, it will bepossible to achieve the 50 percentcompletion mark by 1980.

This will require the participation of private contractors,increased activity by extensionagricultural engineers and creditorganizations and the vigilant support of both provincial and federal agencies.

REFERENCES

1. Census of Canada. DominionBureau of Statistics, Ottawa,Canada 5:2, 1961.

2. Daneau, Marcel. Utilisationeconomique des terres agri-coles du Quebec. Agriculture21:1:26. Jan.-Fev. 1964.

3. Dresser, J. A., et T. C.Denis. La Geologie de Quebec, Vol. II. Ge'ologie descriptive. Ministere desMines, Province de Quebec,Canada, pp. 3-10, 1946.

4. Farmers' Reactions to NewPractices. Tech. Bull. 264.Agr. Ext. Serv. Michigan StateUniv., 1958.

CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING VOL. 9, 1967

5. Frechette, A. Etude sur lesleves cadastraux dans la province de Quebec avec consideration speciale des me'thodesphotogramme'triques. Thesede doctorat es sciences,Faculty de Foresterie et deGeodesie, Universite Laval,1966.

6. Ferguson, F. L., and C. G.E. Downing. Farm Drainageand Drainage Acts in Ontario. Agricultural Engineering32:1, pp. 39, 40, 43, 1951.

7. Irwin, R. W. The Future Needfor Tile Drainage in Ontario.Eng. Tech. Publ. No. 10.School of Agricultural Engineering, Univ. of Guelph,Guelph, Ontario, pp. 4-5, 1964.

8. Manspn, P.W., and CO. Rost.Farm Drainage - An Important Conservation Practice.Agricultural Engineering32:6, pp.325-327,1951.

9. Manuel d'orientation du Personnel Technique de l'Hy-draulique Agricole. Min. del'Agriculture et de la Colonisation, Quebec 1965.

10. OueUette, G. J. Productivitydes sols du Quebec. Agriculture 21:4:109. Decembre1964.

11. Rapports annuels de la Division de l'Hydraulique Agri-cole. Min. de l'Agricultureet de la Colonisation, Quebec.

12. Soil Surveys of Quebec, Canada Department of Agriculture, La Pocatiere, Que.

13. Warkentin, B. P. PhysicalProperties of Ste Rosalie ClaySoils. Soil Research Bull.Dept. of Soil Science, Mac-donald College of McGill University, Montreal, page 11965.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to acknowledge the financial aid providedby the Canada Department of Agriculture and ARDA.

Special thanks are extended tothe Division of Agricultural Hydraulics, Quebec Department ofAgriculture for their valuablehelp.

125