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Resources · Farm operators

Acreage guides for towns in this county: Fort Saskatchewan · Morinville · St. Albert

Location of Sturgeon County in Alberta
Sturgeon County within Alberta

Farming in Sturgeon County, Alberta: Water, Wells and Frost-Free Days

If you run a working farm in Sturgeon County, four things set your season: how much water you can count on, how long the frost-free window is, which fields are wet or regulated, and what it costs to fix them. County figures are a starting point for a farm plan. They are not a parcel survey.

Sturgeon County is intensive grain, oilseed, and specialty-crop land north of Edmonton, with market gardens and greenhouses near the city. Industrial Heartland development and pipelines shape the eastern townships.

Well depth and water table for farm operators

Nearby well records suggest completed wells around 19 m deep in Sturgeon County, with static water levels often in the 5–11 m range. The predominant aquifer on file is Paskapoo Formation and buried-valley sands. These figures come from a Land Intelligence report run on a representative quarter in the county (SW 2-56-25-W4; 170 provincial well records within 5 km), not from your parcel.

Sturgeon County mixes buried-valley sands with Paskapoo bedrock. Two neighbouring quarters can hit water at very different depths, which is why pump-test records from the next road over still need a site well log before you budget steel.

For livestock, plan for peak summer demand and for winter freeze-up. For irrigation, a well rarely replaces a licensed surface source, and diverting water for irrigation generally needs a Water Act licence. Only a pump test tells you yield, and a county average does not.

Frost-free days and hardiness zone

Sturgeon County is generally treated as hardiness zone 3b, with a frost-free window on the order of 120 days. The zone is read from the Natural Resources Canada plant hardiness map (4th edition, 1991–2020 normals) at a representative quarter; frost dates are a regional table keyed by zone, not a logger on your fence.

The river valley can frost later in spring than the open fields around Morinville. A county zone of 3b hides that pocket of extra risk.

Match variety maturity to the shorter, colder number, not the longer one. After an early harvest, a cover crop needs seed in the ground fast, and a 4R nitrogen plan helps you time inputs to the season you actually get. More on the zone: hardiness zone in Sturgeon County.

Wetlands, sloughs, and flood limits on the field

Wetland density in Sturgeon County is best described as moderate to high. Notable mapped or commonly discussed flood-hazard areas include Sturgeon River corridor, Big Lake fringe.

Big Lake and the Sturgeon River floodplain are protected and flood-prone, and pothole wetlands are common on the moraine. Drainage requires approval even on long-farmed quarters.

Alberta regulates changes to wetlands and watercourses. Draining, filling, or ditching a wet area can require approval under the Water Act, even when it looks like a low spot in a field. Read the Alberta wetland policy guide before you order a ditcher, and price field drainage only after you know what is allowed.

Work packages farm operators ask about

Check grant fit before you spend

Alberta's producer programs run through Sustainable CAP, with streams for water, landscapes, efficiency, and value-added work. The federal On-Farm Climate Action Fund has supported nitrogen management, cover crops, and rotational grazing. Rates, caps, and intake change, so use the grant eligibility quiz to see what may apply, then confirm with the program administrator.

Sampled data for Sturgeon County

From a Land Intelligence report run on a representative quarter in Township 56, Range 25, W4. These are measured or record-based values for that location, shown to put the county figures above in context. They are not your parcel.

Median completed depth23.1 m170 records within 5 km of the sample
Middle half of wells16.5–33.3 mshallowest 5.2 m · deepest 213.4 m
Median static level6.2 mbelow ground, where recorded
Annual mean2.9 °Clow -35.2 °C · high 30.2 °C in the sampled year
Days with frost184in the sampled year
Frost windowMay 15 – Sep 18regional table for zone 3b
Growing degree days1555base 5 °C
Fixed south array yield1284 kWh/kWp/yrlatitude tilt, rough feasibility only
Annual insolation1646.2 kWh/m²global, horizontal
Nearby well records in Sturgeon County: completed depth (down) versus distance from the sample point0 m55 m110 m165 m220 m0.0 km0.8 km1.5 km2.2 km3.0 kmmedian 23.1 m0.1 km away: completed 7.3 m0.8 km away: completed 24.4 m1.1 km away: completed 48.9 m, static level 38.1 m1.1 km away: completed 82.3 m1.3 km away: completed 23.0 m, static level 11.0 m1.3 km away: completed 17.8 m, static level 5.8 m1.3 km away: completed 8.5 m1.3 km away: completed 23.3 m, static level 11.3 m1.5 km away: completed 9.1 m1.8 km away: completed 10.2 m, static level 4.6 m1.9 km away: completed 10.4 m, static level 2.4 m2.0 km away: completed 24.4 m2.0 km away: completed 50.1 m, static level 38.1 m2.0 km away: completed 17.8 m, static level 5.8 m2.0 km away: completed 15.1 m, static level 3.1 m2.0 km away: completed 16.8 m, static level 4.8 m2.1 km away: completed 213.4 m2.2 km away: completed 12.2 m2.2 km away: completed 18.3 m2.2 km away: completed 28.8 m, static level 16.8 m2.2 km away: completed 85.3 m2.2 km away: completed 33.5 m2.3 km away: completed 38.8 m, static level 6.3 m2.3 km away: completed 79.2 m2.3 km away: completed 23.6 m, static level 11.6 m2.4 km away: completed 32.4 m, static level 9.1 m2.4 km away: completed 18.1 m, static level 6.1 m2.4 km away: completed 22.7 m, static level 10.7 m2.4 km away: completed 81.1 m2.4 km away: completed 27.2 m, static level 15.2 m2.4 km away: completed 16.0 m, static level 4.0 m2.4 km away: completed 15.1 m, static level 3.1 m2.4 km away: completed 36.6 m2.4 km away: completed 25.9 m2.4 km away: completed 30.5 m2.5 km away: completed 5.2 m2.5 km away: completed 33.2 m2.5 km away: completed 18.7 m, static level 6.7 m2.6 km away: completed 16.6 m, static level 4.6 m2.6 km away: completed 16.9 m, static level 4.9 m
Each dot is one provincial well record near the sampled quarter: distance across, completed depth down (deeper is lower). Hover a dot for its values. The dashed line is the median. Records are shown by distance only; no locations are published.
Monthly average high and low temperature, Sturgeon County-25250 °CJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan: average high -5.4 °C, average low -14.9 °CJan: average high -5.4 °C, average low -14.9 °CFeb: average high -4.6 °C, average low -13.6 °CFeb: average high -4.6 °C, average low -13.6 °CMar: average high -2.8 °C, average low -13.2 °CMar: average high -2.8 °C, average low -13.2 °CApr: average high 4.5 °C, average low -4.6 °CApr: average high 4.5 °C, average low -4.6 °CMay: average high 18.9 °C, average low 6.5 °CMay: average high 18.9 °C, average low 6.5 °CJun: average high 17.9 °C, average low 9.7 °CJun: average high 17.9 °C, average low 9.7 °CJul: average high 22.9 °C, average low 13 °CJul: average high 22.9 °C, average low 13 °CAug: average high 22.3 °C, average low 11.5 °CAug: average high 22.3 °C, average low 11.5 °CSep: average high 18 °C, average low 7.4 °CSep: average high 18 °C, average low 7.4 °COct: average high 10.9 °C, average low 1.1 °COct: average high 10.9 °C, average low 1.1 °CNov: average high 1.3 °C, average low -6 °CNov: average high 1.3 °C, average low -6 °CDec: average high -11.8 °C, average low -21.4 °CDec: average high -11.8 °C, average low -21.4 °C22.9 °C-21.4 °CAverage daily highAverage daily low
Open-Meteo daily archive (ERA5 reanalysis), 2025-10-08 to 2026-10-08: one recent year at the sample point, not a 30-year normal. Use it for the shape of the year, not for a design value.
Monthly horizontal irradiance, Sturgeon County (kWh/m²/day)Jan: 0.94 kWh/m²/dayJFeb: 1.88 kWh/m²/dayFMar: 3.39 kWh/m²/dayMApr: 4.79 kWh/m²/dayAMay: 5.72 kWh/m²/dayMJun: 6.11 kWh/m²/dayJ6.11Jul: 6.1 kWh/m²/dayJAug: 5.03 kWh/m²/dayASep: 3.37 kWh/m²/daySOct: 2.06 kWh/m²/dayONov: 1.04 kWh/m²/dayNDec: 0.69 kWh/m²/dayD0.69
Horizontal irradiance by month from the report pipeline's insolation tables at the sample point. June and December are labelled; the ratio between them sizes an off-grid battery bank.

Growing zones near Sturgeon County: Morinville (zone 3b) · St. Albert (zone 4a) · Edmonton (zone 4a) · Fort Saskatchewan (zone 3b) · Alberta growing zones map

Neighbouring counties: Parkland County (36 km) · Strathcona County (40 km) · Westlock County (43 km) · Thorhild County (55 km) · Compare Sturgeon County with another county

Sampled from the live report pipeline at a representative quarter in Township 56, Range 25, W4 on 2026-10-08: well depth, hardiness zone, solar irradiance (170 well records within 5 km). Text reviewed 2026-10-09. Methodology.

Common questions

How deep are farm wells in Sturgeon County?

Nearby records point to roughly 19 m as a planning figure. Your parcel can differ a lot, so a pump test matters more than the county average.

How long is the growing season in Sturgeon County?

Plan around about 120 frost-free days, then check your own field for frost pockets and shorter windows.

Do I need approval to drain a wet field in Sturgeon County?

Often, when a wetland or watercourse is involved. Confirm with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas before you dig.

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