Mackenzie County Reeve Bill Neufeld stands in a dried-out field. Every farmer in the region has been hurt by the drought but cattle producers have been especially affected.

Dry doesn’t describe it in Mackenzie County

Almost no rain has fallen across a county that’s bigger than 
New Brunswick — and that’s devastating for the cattle industry

Reading Time: 4 minutes Drought hits everyone hard, but Mackenzie County’s 150 cattle producers have been squeezed harder and earlier than most — and the fallout may be felt for years. Cattleman Eric Jorgensen remembers looking at an agro-climatic map in mid-June that showed the province’s largest county, which at 80,000 square kilometres is larger than New Brunswick, had […] Read more

Rain in Sask., Man. stalls harvest, causes crop damage

Rain in Sask., Man. stalls harvest, causes crop damage

CNS Canada — Rain in Manitoba and Saskatchewan has stalled harvest and caused crop damage, but moving forward, conditions should improve, two industry specialists predict. Shannon Friesen, a regional crops specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture in Moose Jaw, said recent rains have delayed harvest and stalled maturity in some crops. Producers have found peas and canola […] Read more


Prairies should see rain this week, except where needed most

Prairies should see rain this week, except where needed most

CNS Canada –– Most of the Prairies are expected to get well-timed rain that will maximize growing potential, except for where it’s needed most, according to a U.S. weather specialist. Saskatchewan Drew Lerner, president at World Weather Inc., based near Kansas City, said the driest areas in southwestern Saskatchewan will not get rain. “That region […] Read more

(Allan Dawson photo)

U.S. grains: Corn sets one-year highs on tighter old-crop U.S. supply

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures reached one-year highs and soybeans jumped on Friday as the U.S. Agriculture Department made bigger-than-expected cuts to its estimates for stocks of crops left over from last year’s harvests. The reductions, revealed in a monthly USDA report, added to concerns about supplies among traders worried that persistent rains […] Read more



Farmland south of Turtleford benefited from recent rain. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Guenther: Rain drops in on NW Sask.

Farmers and ranchers in northwestern Saskatchewan received much-needed rain late last week and over the weekend. Tom Brown raises cattle and is a crop reporter for Saskatchewan Agriculture and the reeve for the Rural Municipality of Mervin. His farm at Turtleford, about 80 km east of Lloydminster, received 11 mm of rain on Thursday night, […] Read more





Dry areas of Prairies still waiting for rain

Dry areas of Prairies still waiting for rain

CNS Canada –– The continued lack of moisture across a large portion of Alberta and Saskatchewan is becoming more of a concern for farmers in the region, but there is a chance of rain in some nearby forecasts. Shannon Friesen, a cropping management specialist for Saskatchewan Agriculture in Moose Jaw, said some livestock producers are […] Read more

precipitation map of Alberta

What goes into the making of a heavy rainfall event

Ever wondered why it’s so muggy before some thunderstorms 
or why some have lulls between torrents of rain?

Reading Time: 3 minutes As we slowly slide into summer it seems an appropriate time to take a look at our next type of severe summer weather — heavy rainfall. Often, when you think of severe weather and heavy rainfall, you don’t put the two together. Oh sure, the Prairies can see huge dumps of rain, but we often dismiss […] Read more