Officials warn data centers and development are adding pressure on farmland; water infrastructure seen as the limiting factor

Speakers at the PENWR roundtable raised land‑use and water as rising constraints on agricultural production.

Tara Sawyer, Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation, said her province is encouraging data centers but cautioned "it is a fine balance to still protect our prime agriculture land" and said safeguards are needed where new development uses good soils.

Derek Sandison and the deputy director from Oregon stressed that preserving farmland depends on making farming economically viable and that some renewable and solar projects can provide needed income for struggling farmers. "The best way to preserve farmland is make sure you have a healthy ag economy," Sandison said.

David Merritt and other panelists described rapid urban growth near cities such as Saskatoon and Regina and noted the reality that prime agricultural land is often adjacent to expanding urban areas. Merritt said Saskatchewan is expanding irrigation and cited Lake Diefenbaker as a major reservoir; he urged using irrigation expansion to support higher‑value crops.

On infrastructure, Washington officials described the Plum River Water Supply Development Act and past appropriations that grew available water by hundreds of thousands of acre‑feet; the state initially appropriated about $200,000,000 for new water projects in eastern Washington. Montana officials said aging canals and the political difficulty of adding storage make meeting growing demand challenging.

Panelists encouraged coordinated land‑use planning, stronger protections for top soils where possible, and regional investment in water storage and irrigation infrastructure. No regulatory action was taken at the session.