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
Mustard crops in good condition despite hail, prices squeezed
CNS Canada – Western Canada’s mustard crops are in mostly good condition, one industry participant says, while new-crop prices for the commodity have moved lower. “I would say throughout the growing area it really looks quite good, almost exceptional as an average,” said Walter Dyck, general manager, seed division at Olds Products. He added that rain has […] Read more
Hail damage claims skyrocket in Manitoba
Claims already exceed the average for an entire year
Commodity News Service Canada — The massive storms that have steamrolled through parts of Manitoba are causing significantly higher than average hail damage claims, according to the Canadian Crop Hail Association. The association’s most recent hail report said the ratio of claims to policies have soared due to storms on July 4, July 10 and […] Read more
Salvaging hail-damaged crops
Storm damage to crops can result in problems with nitrate accumulations, especially if the crops were heavily fertilized or manured in the spring to optimize yield. “With volatile weather comes storm damage and, for some producers, this means salvaging crops for feed,” says Andrea Hanson, beef extension specialist, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Airdrie. Hanson cautions […] Read more
Salvaging hail-damaged crops
Tests recommended to ensure there is no possibility of nitrate poisoning
Reading Time: 2 minutes Storm damage to crops can result in problems with nitrate accumulations, especially if the crops were heavily fertilized or manured in the spring to optimize yield. “With volatile weather comes storm damage and, for some producers, this means salvaging crops for feed,” says Andrea Hanson, beef extension specialist, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Airdrie. Hanson cautions […] Read more
Crop insurance payouts soar after drought and hail
The final tally will top $700 million and may reach $900 million, with more than 6,400 hail claims processed already
Reading Time: 3 minutes While yields may be better than expected in many areas, this season’s drought and hail still hit producers hard. Agricultural Financial Services Corporation expects to pay out between $700 million and $900 million in crop insurance payments — a huge increase from the 2014 tally of $370 million. “The payouts are expected to be higher […] Read more
Severe summer weather. Taking a look at thunderstorms and wind
Everyone knows what a funnel cloud looks like, but understanding how it forms isn’t easy
Reading Time: 3 minutes In continuing our look at severe thunderstorms, we’ll look at specifically, the most deadly part — tornadoes. What are tornadoes and how do they form? A classic definition of a tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground, which may or may not be visible as a funnel cloud. For […] Read more
Researchers invent their own version of the great white combine
Farming Smarter has created a hail simulator so it can test ‘hail rescue’ treatments
Reading Time: 3 minutes What can you do when your crops get pounded by hail? How do crops recover from hail damage? There are a lot of questions about this subject, and little information available. That’s why the team at Farming Smarter developed its own hail damage simulation machine, which it unveiled at the organization’s recent field school. “We […] Read more
When it comes to hail, not all parts of the Prairies are equal
South-central Alberta and south-central Manitoba get the worst hailstorms — but for different reasons
Reading Time: 4 minutes So far in our look at different types of severe summer weather, we’ve looked at heavy rainfall warnings and heat warnings. I was going to take a break from our examination of severe summer weather for this issue and examine some of the unique weather events that have taken place across the world over the […] Read more
Models cause for less hail, but less rain, too
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta has the dubious distinction of having the most — and biggest — hail in the world. “We’re very famous for that,” said University of Alberta meteorologist Gerhard Reuter. And you can blame it on the Rocky Mountains, which affect airflows to create ‘hail alley’ — a corridor stretching from Rocky Mountain House to Red […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
