(file photo/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

Year in Review

Year in Review: Trespass legislation applauded

Dec 30, 2019 | 12:29 PM

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) is pleased with the new provincial civil trespass legislation.

APAS President Todd Lewis said producers have been facing growing risks around bio-security and need more control over who can access their land.

“The potential economic and environmental costs to our industry from the spread of disease and invasive pests are considerable. Having a consistent set of rules for agricultural land access is very welcome,” Lewis said. “The spread of a soil-borne disease like clubroot is a major risk to our most important cash crop in Saskatchewan. It can be spread by hunters, recreational vehicle users, contractors or anyone accessing our property. Once the disease is established the affected producer is unable to grow canola for the next 15 to 20 years.”

Lewis said other risk factors include the spread of animal diseases and weed species.

“Anything that can travel on a vehicle or a piece of equipment or even a clump of mud on a pair of boots poses a potential threat to our livelihoods. Producers need to have the right to control those risks and this legislation provides a uniform and consistent approach that requires our consent to access our property,” Lewis said.

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There were questions about how recreational users could get permission to access rural property.

A Saskatoon-based company announced it created an app that would connect rural property owners and land users.

Western Heritage won the Rural Property Access Innovation Challenge sponsored by the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.

The new app that connects rural landowners to people like hunters and snowmobilers, is being tested in the R.M. of Shellbrook.

Landowners can set what activities are allowed on their property and users can look at a map to ask for permission.

Co-founder Aldo Scribante said it is colour coded. Red means no permission, yellow means ask for permission and green means the landowner has pre-approved what you’re requesting. He said if you see a deer in a field that’s marked green on the app then you know you can legally be there.

The pilot will last through the end of 2020. The goal is to eventually have 75 per cent of land coverage.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: AliceMcF