Editing Palliser's Triangle (section)

==Modern agriculture==
This area was and is still very productive in terms of both [[produce]] and [[livestock]]. Alberta and Saskatchewan are currently the provinces with the second and third most farms, respectively, only being surpassed in this respect by much more populous [[Ontario]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/agriculture/|title=CBC News Indepth: Agriculture|date=2009-01-24|access-date=2018-03-08|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124055640/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/agriculture/|archive-date=2009-01-24}}</ref> This is despite the fact that Palliser's Triangle, which occupies much of the southern portions of both of these provinces, has had consistent issues with droughts, almost every decade being marked by at least one dry year,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nkemdirim|first=Lawrence|last2=Weber|first2=Lena|date=August 1999|title=Comparison between the Droughts of the 1930s and the 1980s in the Southern Prairies of Canada|journal=Journal of Climate|volume=1999|issue=8|pages=2434|doi=10.1175/1520-0442(1999)012<2434:CBTDOT>2.0.CO;2|doi-access=free}}</ref> in no small part due to the [[orographic lift]] caused by the [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], the [[Coast Mountains]], the [[Cascade Range]] and the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada Range]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pfra.ca/doc/Drought/Drought%20in%20the%20Palliser%20Triangle_1998.pdf|title=Drought in the Palliser Triangle (A Provisional Primer)|last=Nemanishen|first=Walter|date=January 1998|website=Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration|page=1|access-date=March 8, 2018}}</ref> This has much to do with efforts to maintain sustained agricultural practices such as [[Agricultural diversification|crop diversification]] and [[conservation tillage]] which have softened the blow of complications that could have otherwise had far more severe effects.<ref name=":2" />

Saskatchewan is currently the province with the largest amount of farmland, and the leading crops are [[canola]], [[spring wheat]] and [[lentil]]s. Cattle are also a major player in the farming economy, given that Saskatchewan has the second highest number of cattle of all the Canadian provinces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/95-640-x/2016001/article/14807-eng.htm|title=Saskatchewan remains the breadbasket of Canada|last=Canada|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|website=www.statcan.gc.ca|language=en|access-date=2018-03-08}}</ref> The reverse is true in Alberta, which has the second largest total farmland and the highest number of cattle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/95-640-x/2016001/article/14808-eng.htm|title=Alberta has the most beef cattle in Canada and the second largest total farm area|last=Canada|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|website=www.statcan.gc.ca|language=en|access-date=2018-03-08}}</ref> This Western Canadian agriculture is noticeably focused in the Palliser's Triangle region, demonstrating that agriculture in the area has persisted in spite of the dry climate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/95-634-x/2017001/article/54904/catm-ctra-039-eng.htm|title=Crops - Hay and field crops|last=Canada|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|website=www.statcan.gc.ca|language=en|access-date=2018-03-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/95-634-x/2017001/article/54903/catm-ctra-231-eng.htm|title=Land use, land tenure and management practices|last=Canada|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|website=www.statcan.gc.ca|language=en|access-date=2018-03-08}}</ref>

Despite the frequent and sometimes disastrous droughts, the Triangle did become and still is the metaphorical breadbasket of the nation as he expected. However, the region has also suffered a major loss in terms of biodiversity over the course of settlement. Canada as a whole has found itself with under 20% of its mixed grass prairies, under 5% of its [[Festuca|fescue]] prairies, and less than a half-percent of its tall grass prairies. In addition, the prairies have a very high rate of endangered species.<ref name=":5" />