Soil and Agriculture
Peter Pond was the first person reported to have a garden on Alberta soil. His
plot, in 1779, was only for personal use. However, agriculture has been a
part of Alberta's history at least as long as it has been a province. Alberta was faced with
many obstacles from the beginningmuch had to be done to cultivate the land. In 1857, Captain John Palliser
declared the land unfit for crops or agriculture. For the men and women who
pioneered the technology behind agriculture, it was no small task.
It
was with the coming of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in 1883, that the settlers
came. Just before World War I, Alberta saw many settlers stop to cultivate
the land that was deemed unfit just years before.
Alberta
has certainly come a long wayfrom Peter Pond's small garden patch to a world
leader in the industry of agriculture. How did Alberta get to where it is
today? This section will illuminate the Province's agricultural history,
and perhaps light the way to the future.
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