Geography of Saskatchewan

Vegetation

*see also|Prairie
*see also|Canadian Prairies
*see also|Canada's landforms#The Canadian Shield
*see also|Canada's landforms#The Interior Plains
*see also|Canadian Shield

Saskatchewan has three major landforms, the Canadian Shield area north of the tree line, and grassland prairie plains or Central Lowlands that are treeless south of the tree line. The northern section is covered in lakes and trees. The Great Plains are shown in yellow on the geography of Saskatchewan image at the top of this page and the Saskatchewan portion has been known as the Palliser's Triangle. "Sources [http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/phys05.htm?sdi=lakes Statistics Canada] , [http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/map/area/wname.html WLD] , [http://www.anglersatlas.com/freemaps/bc/bclist.php anglersatlas.com] "

Most farms were grain and oilseed, however, the trend is to diversify with speciality crops and animals. ;Land and cropsNationally, 89.9 million acres (364,000 km²) of land was chop production in 2001.

Wheat still was Canada's largest crop with 26.8 million acres (108,000 km²) but the area has declined steadily since 1996 as more land was placed into pasture and fodder to support larger domestic animal populations. Several droughts also have helped to the decline of wheat production. Saskatchewan had shown a decline in 23.1% in area of land seeded wheat since the previous census. Oilseeds, pulses and speciality crops continued to increase as farmers diversified their crop production.

;LivestockSince 1996 and 2001 census showed that livestock numbers have increased to record levels cattle: up by 4.4%, pigs by 26.4%, and sheep by 46%. Beef cow numbers rose to 15.6 million head nationally. Saskatchewan had approximately 20% of the national herd with Alberta dominating at 43%.

At the turn of the century, the early 1900s saw settlers who needed to import their butter. By the roaring twenties dairy production in Saskatchewan not only filled domestic needs, but Saskatchewan dairy farmers were able to export to Britain. [ [http://www.rootsweb.com/~canmaps/1926/v.html 1926 Highway
] URL accessed 2007-04-08] There were just more than 13.6% less dairy cows since 1996. There was an even bigger decline of 29.2% in the number of farms with dairy cows.

Albeit dairy cow numbers have been constantly declining, milk production, it had remained fairly constant. Increased production per dairy cow, has been achieved by improved breeding, feeding and milking methods, including a growth of three milkings per day from the traditional two by some operations.

The amount of hogs in Canada increased to 26.4% to a record 13.9 million, as farmers responded to strong export markets for live hogs and pork products. More than 5000 small big producers were leaving production since 1996. Hog Production, then dominated by large corporate enterprises. There in fact is more hogs than people.

There were 126.2 million hens and chickens in Canada in 2001: about 60% of them in Ontario and Quebec. For flock, 69% were raised for meat the rest for laying hens and pullets. The outreach was fueled by an increased demand for eggs (16 dozen per capita each year).

Over 1.3 million sheep were now on Canadian farms, an increase of over 50% from 1996 and much below the peak of 3.6 million in 1931. The sheep mainly were bred for meat production instead of wool. Lamb and mutton was very popular for ethnic production, specifically in the Toronto area.

;CropsAccording to the 2001 census the number of farms in Saskatchewan (50, 598) declined by 11.2% from the amounts reported from the prior census in 1996. Farms were fewer by 24.8 % a decade ago. In 1936, about seven decades ago the highest census for farms occurred and the number was 142,391.

Saskatchewan accounts for 20% of all Canadian farmers and has the largest farms with an average farm size of 1283 acres (up from convert|1152|acre|km2|0 in the last census). The province had nearly 40% of the agricultural land in Canada, nearly 13 million acres (53,000 km²) more than second-place Alberta.

About 64.9 million acres (263,000 km²) of the province is farmland. Thirty-eight million acres (154,000 km²) were cropped in 2001.

Distribution of farmland:
# Cropped: 38 million acres (154,000 km²)
# Summer fallow: 7.7 million acres (31,000 km²)
# Tame (seeded) pasture: 3.5 million acres (14,000 km²)
# Natural pasture: 12.7 million acres (51,000 km²)
# Other: 3.0 million acres (12,000 km²) Spring wheat still dominated the prairie landscape, though the crop is losing ground to oilseeds and specialty crops.

The five major crops in 2001 were:
# Spring wheat (10.7 million acres)
# Barley (4.7 million acres)
# Durum wheat (4.6 million acres)
# Canola (4.3 million acres)
# Alfalfa/alfalfa mixtures (2.8 million acres)

The numbers of large animals for 2001 were:
# Cattle and calves (2.9 million)
# Sheep and lambs (149,000)
# Pigs (1.1 million)
# Other animals (184,000)

The province also supported a large poultry industry with 9.7 million birds.

Farm Cash receipts for 2001 Farm Cash receipts accumulated to over $5.8 billion in 2001. Wheat accounted for 26% of the total and cattle 19%. Canola was the most significant crop after wheat and the pulse percentage and speciality crops were increasing. Dairy making continued in decline, while hog production was increasing.

Saskatchewan (GPD) (2002) In 2002, Agriculture, fishing, and hunting accumulated for 6% of the Province's $28.1 billion GPD. The importance of agriculture however laid in the provinces exports. Without exports Saskatchewan would have the economy of a third world country. More than 73% of the GPD came from exports of goods and services.

Agriculture-food exports Saskatchewan exported $4,152.2 million of agriculture and food products in 2000 making 32% of the total exports ($12,950.6 million). Agriculture and Food Products were declining majority as a contributor to exports (i.e. in 1997 over 50% of exports were agricultural). The USA, Japan, EU, and China dominated the list for 50% of their Agriculture-Food exports. The USA alone accounted for 23%.

Economic overview

Excluding a semi-arid area of the southwest used for grazing and the area in the east and central portion used for mixed farming and dairying, the land is dedicated to raising hard wheat. Saskatchewan usually produces ⅔s of Canada's wheat. The vast extensions of unbroken plain are well-suited to large-scale mechanized farming. Oats, barley, rye, rapeseed, and flax are also grown throughout the year. The historic process of fur trapping is still practiced.

Saskatchewan is rich in minerals. Oil and natural gas found beneath the prairie, prove to be one of the province's most important minerals. The area north of Lake Athabaska has been exploited for ores yielding uranium. The Flin Flon greenstone belt, a Paleoproterozoic greenstone belt around Flin Flon, in the northeast, is mined for copper, gold, and zinc. In the southwest, coal is mined. Potash mining began in the 1950s near Saskatoon and Esterhazy, and Canada is currently a leading producer of the mineral. The majority of the province's industries process raw materials.

Additional information

* Motto: "Multis E Gentibus Vires" (From many peoples strength)
* Saskatchewan is Canada’s fifth-largest province and has 44% of Canada’s farmland.
* Saskatchewan’s land mass is nearly 1/3 Precambrian rock; 1/3 agricultural land; 23% commercial forest and 12% lakes and rivers
* Shield: authorized by Royal Warrant of King Edward VII, 25 August 1906
* Coat of Arms: This is a crest, supporters, and motto was officially added to the Shield of Arms on 16 September 1986. It is an augmentation of the original Shield of Arms adopted by Royal Warrant of King Edward VII in 1906. It has a lion and a deer on it. The shield displays the royal lion and the three gold sheaves, that symbolize Saskatchewan agriculture.
* Flag: The green upper half represents the northern, the largely forested area of the province; the gold on the lower half represents the southern, the largely grain growing area. The flag is formally adopted in 1969.
* The state flower is a western red lily, lilium philadelphicum var. andinum, selected 1941
* The state bird is sharp-tailed grouse, pedioectes phasianellus jamesi, chosen in 1945.
* The state tree is white birch, betula papyrifera; chosen in 1988
* Mammal: White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, selected in 1988
* Provincial colours: green and gold

;Weather
* Coldest recorded temperature: -57 °C at Prince Albert, 1 February 1893
* Hottest recorded temperature: 45 °C at Yellow Grass and Midale, 5 July 1937
* Average annual percentage of daylight with bright sunshine: 53.3
* Highest number of hours, bright sunshine: 2,701 at Estevan, 1980

See also

*The Saskatchewan Act
*Monarchy in Saskatchewan
*District of Assiniboia
*List of cities in Canada
*List of airports in Saskatchewan
*List of Saskatchewan general elections
*List of Saskatchewan lieutenant-governors
*List of Saskatchewan premiers
*List of Leaders of the Opposition in Saskatchewan
*List of communities in Saskatchewan
*List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
*List of Saskatchewan rivers
*Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
*List of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan
*Saskatchewan Film and Video Classification Board
*Scouting in Saskatchewan

References

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