Why the M.D.
The M.D. of Taber is located in south central Alberta neighbouring with 6 other rural municipalities. Running east
through the centre of the municipalities is the Oldman River that joins with the Bow River at our east boundary. The Bow River defines a majority of our north boundary and Chin Lakes as well as Chin Coulee defines the south.
We have access to primary highways 3, 36 and 25, as well as a number of secondary highways that provide key transportation corridors within the M.D. of Taber. These highways provide great access and routing to all major centres.
Within the M.D. of Taber are 5 hamlets:
• Grassy Lake, on Highway 3, 2.5 miles from the east boundary
• Hays, at the intersection of Highway 875 and 524
• Enchant, along Highway 526 in the northwest corner of M.D.
• Johnsons Addition, adjacent to the west side of the Town of Taber
• Purple Springs, on Highway 3, approximately 10 miles east of Taber
The Towns of Taber and Vauxhall, plus the Village of Barnwell are also located within the M.D. of Taber’s boundaries.
The brown soils in the M.D. vary from clay to sandy loams of a medium texture which combine with a relatively level topography to make the area ideally suited to irrigation farming. The foundation for the present and future prosperity of the M.D. was laid in 1920 when the introduction of irrigation water changed area farming from a gamble to a reliable industry as rainfall was the principal limiting factor in crop production. The continual improvement and expansion of water supplies via the Taber, Bow River and St. Mary Irrigation District systems has paved the way to more intensive crop production techniques. The result has been the development of sugar beet and vegetable processing industries, plus livestock confinement operations which need an abundance of hay, pasture and crop by-products for feed.
Infrastructure
The M.D. of Taber has a number of locational advantages that will and have provided a strong, stable economy:
• provincial highways provide north-south access along Highway 36 and east-west access by way of Highway 3 which is a four-lane route from Taber west;
• rail service is provided by the Crowsnest CPR main line;
• an abundance of agricultural land takes advantage of a climate that provides heat units required for many specialty crops and is supplemented by irrigation systems; the Bow River Irrigation District (BRID), St. Mary's River Irrigation District (SMRID) and Taber Irrigation District (TID).
• oil and gas reserves provide economic diversity;
• the Town of Vauxhall, Village of Barnwell and the Town of Taber provide an urban nucleus with a broad diversity of support services.