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  1. Approximately 1.7 billion cubic metres of water were used for irrigation, in 2012. This was more than double that used in 2010.
  2. The majority of water was used to irrigate field crops (61%) and forage crops (34%).
  3. Just over 7,300 farms, representing 79% of farms that were in scope for the survey, reported irrigating their crops in 2012.
  4. More than 590,000 hectares of land received irrigation in 2012. Field crops (346,530 ha) and forage crops (200,040 ha) were grown on the majority of land that received irrigation.
  5. In 2012, half of farms obtained at least some of their irrigation water from off-farm sources (50%). On-farm surface water was the second most common water source (36%).
  6. Close to 75% of the water used for irrigation came from off-farm sources, while 20% came from on-farm surface water and 5% came from on-farm underground sources.
  7. Provincial sources such as irrigation districts were the most common source of off-farm water. More than 90% of the off-farm water used for irrigation was obtained from provincial sources.
  8. Sprinkler irrigation systems were the most used irrigation system, followed by micro irrigation systems and surface irrigation.
  9. In 2012, 785 farms had to stop or forego irrigation because of a shortage of surface water and 340 farms suffered from a shortage of underground water.
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