dry year

Poor water quality linked to sulfate levels

Poor water quality linked to sulfate levels

This summer, testing water might become a necessity for livestock producers. Hundreds of dugouts across the eastern Prairies are half-full of water, or nearly empty, because of minimal snowfall this winter. When dugouts and other water sources are low, water quality usually drops. “If they (producers) are looking at lower levels… that can sneak up on someone,” said Jenay Werle, livestock and feed specialist with Saskatchewan’s ministry of agriculture in Yorkton. “There are health implications to poor water. It can show it as reproductive failure or other nutritional issues.”