the salmon river watershed - Learning Centre

The trend appears to be to firmly maintain the Agricultural Land Reserve and only allow
exclusion or subdivision within the Agricultural Land Reserve under very special
circumstances.
Land Capability and Suitability for Agriculture
Land capability for agriculture is defined as the capability of soil/climate combination to produce a
range of crops or a single crop. A Class 1 to 7 system is used with Class 1 having no significant
limitations and the widest crop range and Class 7 having very severe limitations and no inherent
capability for agriculture. Ratings are applied under irrigated and dry farm conditions.
The Class 1 - 4 capability lands with the best soil/climate combinations and widest range of
cropping opportunity, particularly with irrigation, are concentrated in the Salmon River valley
bottom, adjacent terraces and lower valley slopes. The uplands contain scattered areas of
Class 4 and 5 capability arable lands with significant soil and climate limitations. Class 5 and 6
capability lands associated with the native forage areas of grassed and forested valley slopes
and uplands often form a critical component of livestock - forage production for farm and ranch
units within the watershed.
Land suitability for agriculture is the climate/soils combination suitability for specific crops given
sufficient and appropriate levels of management inputs.
The following is a general description of suitability for specific soil-bound crops.
• High suitability: a low to moderate level of management inputs are required to achieve an
acceptable level of production.
• Moderate suitability: a moderate to high level of management inputs are required to
achieve an acceptable level of production.
• Low suitability: identified crops are not well suited but can be grown with a very high level
of management input.
• No suitability for soil bound agriculture.
Use of agricultural land is often dependent on irrigation to maximize the range of cropping
options and yields of specific crops. There are 425 irrigation licenses in the watershed. These
licenses allow for an annual withdrawal of approximately 21,000 acre-feet of water. Generally
the permitted withdrawal period is April 1 to September 30.
There is a wide range in land suitability for specific crops depending on site specific climate,
microclimate and soil characteristics. The widest range of suitability occurs within Salmon Arm
municipality on the river floodplain near its outlet to Shuswap Lake and at Westwold.
Depending on the specific crop or commodity other valley bottom and lower slope sites have
high and moderate suitability for agricultural enterprises. Within the watershed there are some
30 agricultural uses/commodities each of which has different specific requirements.
For the purposes of description we have divided the watershed into seven different
agriculturally significant geographic units or focus areas as follows (see Figure 2).
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