Reading Time: < 1 minute Over the past week, rainfall activity has been convective in nature, with heavy downpours leading to localized flooding, and in some cases damaging hail across the province. This has maintained soil moisture levels, but slowed haying progress and reduced hay quality. In cases where crops are not performing well, it is largely due to excessive […] Read more
Hail, flooding damage some crops, but most ‘good to excellent’
Alberta crop conditions as of August 2
Floods cause deaths, block food aid in drought-hit Ethiopia
Nairobi | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Flash floods in drought-stricken parts of Ethiopia have killed people and livestock and are blocking food aid deliveries to hungry communities, a charity said. Ethiopians have been waiting for the spring rains to replenish water sources and to plant crops after the most severe drought in decades pushed more […] Read more
Argentina declares flood emergency in six key farm provinces
Buenos Aires | Reuters — Six of Argentina’s main farm provinces were declared flood emergency areas by the government on Friday, making special credit lines and tax breaks available to affected growers in the soy- and corn-exporting powerhouse. The resolution, announced in the government’s morning gazette, covers the provinces of Cordoba, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, […] Read more
Ardent’s Illinois flour mills reopened
Chicago | Reuters –– Ardent Mills, the largest U.S. flour miller, said operations resumed on Thursday at its mill at Chester, Illinois, that had been closed since Dec. 29 due to near-record flooding on the Mississippi River. Mill staff “have gone ‘above and beyond’ to conduct extensive cleaning and sanitizing to return the mill back […] Read more
Barge accidents rise on flood-swollen Mississippi River
Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. Coast Guard temporarily halted shipping traffic on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday after a tow boat struck stationary barges in a fleeting area, marking at least the fifth barge accident this week on the flood-swollen river. High water has severely restricted barge shipping traffic on the […] Read more
When Mother Nature goes to extremes, the consequences are massive
Whether it’s heat or cold, dry or wet, you can only hope these records will stand for a long, long time
Reading Time: 3 minutes Each year Environment Canada puts out its Top 10 weather stories and I like to go through them taking a more western focus. I thought it might be interesting to go back over the last 115 years or so and look at some of the biggest weather stories to hit the Canadian Prairies — according […] Read more
U.S. grain prices soar as floods shut waterways, threaten crops
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain farmers scrambled to find shelter for their crops and handlers hunted for alternative transportation routes, as widespread floods shut waterways from Illinois to Missouri and spurred a surge in physical prices of corn and soybeans. The sudden jump in prices could complicate a months-long stand-off between farmers who are […] Read more
Flooding in U.S. Midwest threatens winter wheat
Chicago | Reuters — Heavy weekend storms caused flooding in parts of the southern U.S. Midwest, threatening the region’s soft red winter wheat, crop experts said on Monday. A swath of eastern Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and southern Illinois received 7.5 to 18 cm of rain with localized totals of up to 25 cm, MDA Weather […] Read more
What’s happening above when it comes down in buckets all day long
It’s been a dry spring, but we’re moving into the time of year when heavy rainfall events occur more frequently
Reading Time: 3 minutes So far this spring, a good portion of Alberta and Saskatchewan has not seen any heavy rainfall events. If you check out the map above you’ll see the large red and amber areas that represent rainfall amounts that are 60 per cent of average or less. Hopefully, my writing about heavy rainfall won’t put a jinx […] Read more
Alberta wetlands receive funding for conservation projects
More than 1,300 acres will be conserved or restored thanks to $11.6 million grant
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ducks Unlimited Canada will receive more than $11.6 million in grant funds for wetland conservation and restoration work to help reduce the impact of flooding and drought in Alberta. The funding comes from the Alberta government’s Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program. Wetlands have the ability to store water and slow the release of water into […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
