MarketsFarm — Mixed precipitation throughout January helped drought conditions improve across much of the Canadian Prairies during the month, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), released Tuesday. Conditions have deteriorated in some areas, however, and the majority of Western Canada was still in some kind of drought state. […] Read more
Drought conditions ease slightly across Prairies
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
Fall didn’t deliver — now we need a very snowy winter
Hope for wet, but plan for dry, say experts as drought conditions remain widespread in province
Reading Time: 5 minutes Much of Alberta will need as much as three times the usual amount of snow this winter to get out of drought conditions before spring, says an AgCanada agro-climate specialist. “We’re looking at 250 per cent to 300 per cent of normal snow accumulation or large snow accumulation added to early rainfall,” said Trevor Hadwen. […] Read more
Prairie winter weather a sign of La Nina repeat
Full effects won't be seen for a while yet
MarketsFarm — December marks the start of what meteorologists call “meteorological winter” — and this winter, the Pacific Ocean phenomenon known as La Nina may be rearing its head once again. La Nina (Spanish for “little girl”) is a climate pattern detected over the Pacific every few years where cooler water pools at the equator […] Read more
Not many snow days this past winter
Reading Time: < 1 minute It was indeed a dry winter, says the province’s latest soil moisture update, but it also says spring and summer precipitation is what really counts. The March 17 update shows three large areas in the North West, North East, and west part of the Southern regions hit one-in-25-year precipitation lows from mid-September to mid-March. “For […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat down on forecasts for Plains moisture
CBOT soybeans and corn both end higher
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell to a one-month low on Thursday, pressured by forecasts for welcome moisture in the southern U.S. Plains crop belt that should boost wheat production prospects, traders said. But soybean and corn futures ended higher, supported by South American supply worries and soaring global vegetable oil prices. Chicago […] Read more
Seasonal forecast calls for more snow
MarketsFarm — Most of Canada should see above-normal snowfall over the next three months, according to updated seasonal forecasts released Monday from Environment Canada. Weather maps show a 40 to 60 per cent probability of more precipitation than normal across much of the country from December through February, with the heaviest accumulations expected in Quebec. […] Read more
Most of Prairies already covered in snow
MarketsFarm — Most of the Canadian Prairies were already blanked in snow by late November, with the deepest snowpack in Alberta and Saskatchewan, according to data compiled by Environment Canada and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Aside from the Rocky Mountains and some areas around the Great Lakes, the U.S. was largely […] Read more
Big Two railways release plans for winter
Snow-clearing equipment among investments at CN, CP
Canada’s major railways have filed their winter contingency plans, as they are now required by law to do. Since updates to the Canada Transportation Act in 2018, Canada’s major rail companies have been required to publish winter plans and can be forced to pay up if they fail to deliver on certain promises of railcars. […] Read more
Cold spring weather expected for Prairies
MarketsFarm — Temperatures in the Prairie provinces are expected to be colder than average this spring. “There’s no indication that temperatures will be above normal,” said Bruce Burnett, director of markets and weather for MarketsFarm in Winnipeg. Low temperatures will likely cause issues for seeding in areas of the Prairies that have received late-spring snowstorms. […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
