Farming question

[scottish_flame]

I looked out the back window of my house which faces farmland. I saw what looks to me like fire. so my questions would be

1) Do farmers burn/set fire to old crops or whatever they are farning
2) if they did is it normal to do it this time of year
3) is it illegal

[Methanolic]

Growing up in AB. It was always common to see Farmers fields with piles of deadfall, rotten bails of hay, old fence posts piled up in the middle of their fields.....which they would usually burn in the spring.

So, No. It's not out of the ordinary at all.

[DionPlett]

I think they burn flax straw because it doesn't degrade as easily as other crops after harvesting.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by scottish_flame

I looked out the back window of my house which faces farmland. I saw what looks to me like fire. so my questions would be

1) Do farmers burn/set fire to old crops or whatever they are farning
2) if they did is it normal to do it this time of year
3) is it illegal

1) Sometimes farmers burn excess straw.
2) it would be normal to burn it in the spring. Perhaps they never had time in the fall, or bad weather which made baling impossible. It's usually pretty wet to try and bale in the spring and they have other more important things to worry about which makes burning old straw an option.
3) Mind your beeswax.
Actually I think most farmers get fire permits. Some probably don't bother if they are just burning a few broken straw bales rather then a whole field.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by scottish_flame

I looked out the back window of my house which faces farmland. I saw what looks to me like fire. so my questions would be

1) Do farmers burn/set fire to old crops or whatever they are farning
2) if they did is it normal to do it this time of year
3) is it illegal

A1) Yes, absolutely. Yes. There's a ton of stuff that needs disposal.
A2) Yes, absolutely. Spring burns are very, very, very common.
A3) Yes, absolutely. Unless you take the time and get a permit.

One thing I would say though.....if you see a fire that really does look unsafe/irresponsible, there's nothing wrong with calling the MD Fire Hall and having someone go take a look (Don't call 911 though, lol).

[Stranger]

We burn brush piles all the time in the winter. Having snow on the ground keeps it from spreading. Flax straw is also a problem. The stuff is like steel wool and takes time to break down, so we usually have someone bale it or it could be burned. And yes you need a permit, though I'm sure some don't.

[mykalberta]

He could be reclaiming more farmland by burning a small section of forest on his property. Now would be the time to do it at least in Central Alberta because it gives you time to finish it, and then get contractors out there to work the land before planting season.

They would have had to get a permit with the county and alert county fire officials about the burning and agree (at least in the county I grew up in) to pay for assistance if required.

[speede5]

Alberta must be different than SK. You don't need a permit here, you just need to inform the Fire department that you are doing a controlled burn so they don't respond when some city slicker calls 911. If they do get a call and respond you are on the hook for the bill, about 650$ where I am.