Lots of weeds!

[cowman]

Don't know about where you live but around central Alberta we are getting a bumper crop of weeds! Not just your average garden variety but lots and lots of the bad ones!
Toad flax, tansy, scentless chamomile and tall buttercup. Growing in places they've never been before! I suspect it is mostly due to oil field activity as well as more hay movement in the last few years?

[coppertop]

The county did some work in the culvert down the road and now there is tansy in the ditch and the farmer's field !!!

[dsinclair]

Had to laugh a bit when I read this thread! If you want to see weeds, come to Yellowhead County!!! There are fields here that don't have a single blade of grass, only Tall Buttercup and Ox-Eye Daisy. It is simply atrocious! The biggest thing is that typically alot of these fellows sell their weed infested fields as hay and some poor sucker miles away ends up with them and has to pay literally thousands of dollars to clean the stuff up. The ASB here doesn't want to rile anybody so they have given people another 3 years to do something about the problem. Unfortunately in 3 years, there may be absolutely nothing growing but weeds!! Not only are the farmers' fields infested, but so is the back country simply because no one is willing to look after their problem!

[coppertop]

Yellowhead County is notorious for not conrolling weeds. Years ago, in the 90's when adjacent counties were trying to get thistles under control, Yellowhead just threw up their hands and said there were so many it was useless to try and control them. I would suspect that they don't push the resource industry to control weeds either.
They have had some major changes on council and the ASB so perhaps things may improve with sufficient prodding by ratepayers.

[dsinclair]

Unfortunately, the changes on council are not enough and for the most part they are maintaining the status quo- Don't do or say anything that will p... anybody off! Ratepayers who have expressed concern have been told not to bother because it is everywhere, and that it is! Had we realized the place that we purchased was this badly infested, we would never have gone through with the deal.
Not only does this county not enforce the weed control act, but they let people build whatever and wherever they want too. Some people have built almost right on pipelines and this line is to be expanded with a larger right-of-way. They may have to move their house and yard! And to top it off, the county was charging taxes for this place even though there was never a real property report!
Nothing like living in a vacuum!

[cowman]

Politics can be pretty frustrating at times, without a doubt? When the fieldman tries and runs into a roadblock at the ASB, what can he do?
Personally I just don't see how any farmer can just stand by and see his land turn into a "weed nightmare"? I do realize by the time the problem is out of control, the costs can be very pricey! I guess the solution is, don't let it get out of control?
And then you have the "back to nature" kooks who think weeds are just part of the landscape and have a right to exist, too! They think every other soul in the world should share their enlightened view! Of course they usually don't need to make a dollar off that old piece of dirt they call home?
I think the provincial government needs to come up with some tough rules...and the will to make the Ag Service boards follow through with them? I wonder if a farmer group lawsuit might wake up some of these dummies?

[coppertop]

Yellowhead County has a very bright young fieldman, and if he is allowed to do his job he will give excellent advice to his ASB. Unfortunately, I fear that the mirco managing aspect of politicians may get in the way of good old fashioned common sense.

It's not only in the issues of weed control that the Province needs to develop stronger legislation, there needs to be consistency across the province in land use as well.68 sets of rules on how land is allowed to be developed makes no sense at all.

[cowman]

Well...a quick thought on land use? The municipality I live in is (supposedly?) on the cutting edge of "Save the farmland" type of drivel! They manipulated things around with a "land use vision" that basically picked some areas to win the lottery, while the rest of us got designated Ag B? This meant we were designated peasants...never to share in the loot of developement!
After less than 6 months into this wonderful dream of socialist central planning, guess what happened? The municipality broke the rules...for its own benifit when they built a waste transfer site on Ag B land! Since then one councillor has been busy as a bee getting an oil field waste storage site set up on her land...again Ag B! And another enterprizing soul has gotten approval for an oilfield storage site on a ten acre site...again Ag B!
I guess it is the same old BS instead of the great socialist experiment we were led to believe? Its all about who you know...and how well you grease the right palms...and to hell with "Save the farmland"!

[dsinclair]

I agree 100%! We have a fellow who lives not far from us who has decided he is going to put in a recreational vehicle campground, a housing development, use village water and tap into the village sewer system. He claims to have verbal approval from our area councillor. He has cleared and pile the brush, non one else can get a burning permit. He just sets piles ablaze and the fire guardian comes by and gives him a permit. Anywhere else, he would have to do all kinds of studies etc. He doesn't even have an engineered plan...just doin' it! The biggest error, in my humble opinion, is the development along one of the major rivers in the area. Stripping trees and sandy topsoil to an area perhaps 100 m from the river's edge. No water study, on how this is going to affect this delicate environment, just we have certain requirements for the houses-they have to have 'wood' on and the people-they will be quality people who will not ride quads along the river or do any harm to this area! Ya right!!! One fellow, now councillor, was to move his buildings. He became councillor and suddenly the writ went away. You KNOW what I'm going to do!!!!!!

[coppertop]

dsinclair, you and I both know that no developer can proceed on just the local councillors say so. Sounds like you have a real challenge in your area, perhaps a bit of mirco management on council ???

[cowman]

I think quite often these "land use dreams" are in reality thought up by some eager planner and presented to the county councillors as a Mom and Apple pie sort of thing? Like how can you be such a dinosaur not to agree?
Then the real world of politics sets in? If you follow the money trail you usually find out how the real world works?
The municipality broke its own rules...so why not everyone else! Now is it going to be "Katie bar the door"?...I don't think so!
Still it is refreshing that business as usual is alive and well in Red Deer county!
Incidently: Land prices in gasoline alley(south of Red Deer) are going through the roof! One guy told me a 3 acre parcel sold there last week for $600K/acre!

[coppertop]

I don't know where it's going to end cowman, but someday, this boom will slow down, and there will be a whole bunch of people wondering how they are going to stay afloat !!!

Living like there is no tomorrow seems to be the norm these days !!

[cowman]

Well coppertop, I'm not sure where it will end...but the ride is sure nice while it happens!
Now I suspect,with a few bumps on the road to be sure, that it really isn't going to end? Not in our liftime?
Maybe I am naive, but all I see is the world wants energy...and we have it!
Eventually the "smart boys" will figure out some different way to provide that...but I suspect you and me won't have to worry about that?