7. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA)

The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA), a branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), was established by the federal government in 1935 to help mitigate the impacts of a prolonged and disastrous drought, which forced thousands of people to leave the prairies between 1931 and 1941. PFRA’s original mandate was to deal with the problems of soil erosion and lack of water resources required for agricultural development in the drought-affected areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Emergency programs included on-farm dugouts for the conservation of water, strip farming to prevent extensive soil drifting, seeding of abandoned land to curb erosion and create Community Pastures, and extensive tree-planting projects to protect the soil from wind erosion. As a result of another drought in 1961, the federal government expanded PFRA’s work area to include all agricultural areas of the Prairie Provinces—more than 80% of Canada’s agricultural land base.

Encylopedia of Saskatchewan

A Personal Reminiscence (P124 Lyleton History)

Vera Murray recalls that "during the 'never-to-be-forgotten dirty thirties', Father remember the countless areas of trees on all Ontario farms and assumed that trees might prevent the soil from drifting from quarter to quarter. In the Manitoba government there was very slow response to the
dire need in southwestern portion of Manitoba. After much opposition, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act was passed in 1935 (to mitigate the effects of drought in the future). Father convinced his nephew, Andrew Gardiner, of
the value of trees and Andrew became one of the first in the area to plant miles and miles of tree strips in each quarter according to the government plan which called for 40 rods between strips. These strips consisted of caragana, maple, ash, elm, chokecherry or plum. Father's choice for the Experimental Farm for the country was on the Charles Edgar's half section, one quarter mile north of Lyleton, where the soil was badly eroded. After such persuasion, there was consent and Jack Parsons gladly agreed to have his adjoining half-section the sub-station. The weather conditions improved, fortunately, and the land be- came productive once more. However, the $5.00-a-mile for planting the trees and $15-a-mile annually for maintenance for five years helped to put change in the farmers' pockets. Farmers have come from other areas in Manitoba, from Saskatchewan, and from North Dakota in recent years, to evaluate the worth of tree-stripping and to consider the promotion of similar action in their own areas."