Starland County is embarking on a new program to encourage area farmers to be more safe while on the roads.
    The new initiative, called “Make it safe, make it visible,”  is all about traffic safety while driving large farm equipment.
    “Farm equipment is getting bigger, so we want to do some positive enforcement to make sure everybody is following the traffic laws with their combines,” said Brenda Gallagher,  community enforcement officer with Starland County.
    Farmers must ensure their vehicles have secure hook ups, reflector strips, a slow moving vehicle emblem, functioning lights, secured loads, and flags. Also, drivers must drive responsibly and obey traffic laws.
    Gallagher presented a talk discussing farm equipment traffic safety on March 11 in Delia and hopes to do more such presentations.
    In addition to education, the county is hoping to encourage compliance with positive ticketing. Rather than ticket farmers for noncompliance, those who are following the rules would receive a small reward.
    “Instead of focusing on the negative, let’s focus on the positive. We did something similar last year with children riding quads and such. We call it positive ticketing. When we saw them doing the right thing, they got a Subway card. I want to do something like that with farmers during seeding time in May and June,” said Gallagher.
    The program is already garnering attention from the province.
    “When I started this, I thought it would be a little thing we could do for farmers and colonies. As I started researching it, I found out it was a big issue in Alberta. Alberta Transportation came down and wants to take things province-wide,” said Gallagher. “It’s such a new thing in Alberta, as other counties learn about it, they’re jumping on board. It’s all fairly new and exciting.”
    Farmers at the meeting on March 11 also suggested educating the public on what to do around farm equipment on the highways.
    “Something we have to think about is what to do about the general public. They’re driving along and they see these huge combines on the road and they don’t know what to do and when this equipment turns, it takes up the whole road,” said Gallagher. “Be aware of them. Most of them are turning into a field. It’s always a short distance, like half a mile to the next field.”
    Rural motorists are asked to be alert and adjust your driving accordingly. When encountering slow-moving farming equipment, assess the situation. Watch for farm lanes or agribusiness into which the equipment might be turning.
    Also, do not pass until certain the way is clear and make sure the farm equipment operator is aware of your intentions.
    Gallagher is currently researching ways to educate motorists about traffic safety in relation to farm equipment.
    For more information, or to book a presentation, contact Gallagher at 403-321-0478 or brenda@starlandcounty.com.
    For a copy of the “Make it safe, make it visible,” guide, visit www.drumhellermail.com.

    Starland County is continuing to encourage area residents to decommission their unused water wells and are offering a big incentive for those who do.
    This spring and summer, the county will be offering a $200 incentive to property owners to decommission their wells. This is the third year the program has run.
    “If a farmer or acreage owner wanted to get their water well safely decommissioned, Starland County will kick in $200 for that,” said Dara Calon, assistant agricultural fieldman.
    It is estimate the total cost of decommissioning an abandoned well is roughly $500.
    To get the incentive, residents must contact Starland County to have their well sealed. However, some information must be provided to the county before work can begin.
    “We go through a private company. We get information from the land owner, like what kind of well it is, how deep the well is, and is it still being used or not. Depending on what type of well it is, it’s going to be a different process to decommission. For example, if it’s dug or encased, or if there is a pump at the bottom or not,” said Calon. “We pass that information on, a contractor comes in, decommissions it, and then we pay them $200. Then, the land owner has to pay the rest of the bill, but it’s a big savings for them.”
    Abandoned wells pose a danger to the aquifers that run underneath the surface. Animals could become trapped, old pipes may rust, or chemicals could enter the aquifer via an open abandoned well, thereby contaminating drinking water.
    A another risk is the potential for children, unaware there is a well, to fall down and become trapped themselves.
    To seal the wells, either bentonite or concrete is used to fill the well and then it is capped, preventing anything from getting to the aquifer. Residents are not encouraged to undertake the work themselves.
    “If it’s covered improperly, it’s a huge risk. It’s better to get them decommissioned,” said Calon. “We’d rather they didn’t fill in the wells on their own, just in case they toss something down that really shouldn’t be there.”
    While many residents have already had their abandoned wells decommissioned, it is estimated thousands more are scattered throughout Starland County.
    To help identify wells and keep farmers and acreage owners safe, Calon plans to conduct a GPS survey of each well that has been decommissined thus far.
    To sign up to decommission a well, call Calon at 403-772-3793.