Not surprisingly for this time of the year, the last forecast didn’t play out exactly as expected, but overall, it was pretty darn close. The large area of high pressure that was forecasted to develop over the northern Prairies and slowly drop southward did just as forecast, but over the first few days the high […] Read more
Prairie Forecast: Warmer, colder… then snow?
Issued Oct. 18, covering Oct. 18-25
At Ag in Motion: ‘Small iron’ revolution brings bikes to farms
There’s a “small iron revolution” happening on farms across Canada. Even though most farmers and people in agriculture probably see “fat bikes” and “e-bikes” as urban phenomena, these new versions of bicycles are leaping into the farmyards and farm fields in hundreds of places. “I have some farm friends who have e-bikes (or) big fat […] Read more
Alberta fairs, auctions offer space for evacuated livestock
Central areas catch break with moisture, cooler weather; CN service resumes
Alberta’s ag societies and livestock auction marts are offering up pen space for producers forced to evacuate animals away from dozens of wildfires in the province’s northern and west-central regions. As of early Thursday evening, the province was tracking 76 active wildfires, of which 22 were listed as “out of control” and 17 as “being […] Read more
Spring planting work can kick up avian flu, feather sector warns
Three more poultry outbreaks confirmed in Canada so far this week
Spring planting work could soon start to bring unintended gifts left by wild birds from fields into farmyards, Ontario’s poultry and egg sectors warn, as more cases of avian flu are confirmed at poultry farms across the country. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday reported three additional outbreaks of H5 avian influenza in commercial […] Read more
Flooding in Manitoba hinges on coming spring melt
MarketsFarm — Manitoba’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre (HFC) released an initial spring flood outlook report Friday citing the risk of moderate to major flooding in most the province’s southern basins. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk said the amount of flooding will depend on weather conditions from now until spring melt. The HFC advised that, while […] Read more
Expect Prairie temperatures below normal until month’s end
MarketsFarm — The Prairie weather outlook for the rest of February is likely to remain below normal, according to Scott Kehler, chief scientist for Weatherlogics in Winnipeg. “[But] not as cold as it has been for most of the winter,” he added. Much of January and February have been highlighted by temperatures well below normal. […] Read more
La Niña introduces itself with Prairie cold snap
MarketsFarm — The frigid conditions which had enveloped the Prairie provinces in recent weeks is a sign La Niña has come again, according to a Kansas-based meteorologist. Since mid-December, the Prairies have been in a deep freeze beginning with temperatures at least 10 C below-normal. Since the holiday season, many towns and cities in the […] Read more
B.C. extends fuel restrictions following flooding
Agricultural and farm-use vehicles exempted as 'essential'
Reuters — Government officials in British Columbia on Monday extended restrictions on the use of fuel by residents, saying it was needed for emergency vehicles as the region recovers from devastating floods. The order, first issued on Nov. 19, limits vehicles deemed “non-essential” by the government to 30 litres of gasoline or diesel fuel per […] Read more
Another La Nina winter predicted
Polar vortex to chill Prairies, more snow further east, AccuWeather says
Data compiled by a U.S. federal weather forecasting agency show La Nina conditions have developed over the central Pacific Ocean and are likely to linger through February. And La Nina, in turn, is expected to produce hard cold snaps over the Prairies, above-normal precipitation over southern British Columbia and relatively mild temperatures with more snow […] Read more
U.S. to lift restrictions Nov. 8 for vaccinated foreign travelers
Washington | Reuters — The White House on Friday will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting Nov. 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the U.S. for as long as 21 months. The unprecedented travel restrictions kept millions of visitors out of the U.S. from […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
