Reading Time: < 1 minute Current snowpack conditions are looking pretty good in all of the head works for Alberta irrigation districts except for the southern tributary as the St. Mary’s River is currently tracking below-normal levels. The Oldman and Bow river systems are tracking at normal and higher-than-normal levels, said provincial irrigation water engineer Lloyd Healy. Reservoir levels in […] Read more
Alberta water supply looking good
The weather outside hasn’t been frightful, nor has the snow come
It was a warm November across the Prairies, but especially in the Peace and Manitoba
Reading Time: 3 minutes I know I have promised to take a look at big snowfall events for a while now, but I kind of forgot that the end of the month was coming and that is typically when we do our look-back and look-ahead at our Prairie weather. Besides, the way the weather is going it doesn’t look […] Read more
The latest winter outlook and more on cold weather precipitation
October was a pleasant change from September, but will the warmer-than-average weather continue for the rest of the year?
Reading Time: 3 minutes In my last article I said that we’d continue our discussion on cold weather precipitation. But before diving into that icy topic, I want to take a look at the weather so far this fall and see if the long-range winter forecasts have changed. After experiencing a cooler- and wetter-than-average September across pretty much all of agricultural […] Read more
The (super) cool lowdown on how snow is formed
Snow will soon begin to fall but a lot has to happen before clouds are ready to produce the white stuff
Reading Time: 3 minutes As we slowly work our way towards winter I thought it might be time to begin our look at the sometimes dreaded ‘S word’ — snow. Instead of just jumping straight into a discussion about snow I think we’ll take a bit of a slower approach that will hopefully help lessen the pain for some […] Read more
Warm weather aids seeding, but winter still lingers
CNS Canada — A late spring snowstorm will delay seeding operations in northern Saskatchewan, but better weather across most other areas of the Prairies is allowing producers to make headway getting this year’s crop in the ground. Up to 30 centimetres of snow fell in and around Saskatoon on Saturday and Sunday, knocking out power […] Read more
Mother Nature had us guessing ‘what next’ all year long
Five to Remember: There were hurricane-force winds in January, snow in September, and an unexpected bonus come October
Reading Time: 2 minutes A whole bunch of snow. Really wet. Really dry. Wet again. Snow in September. And finally a respite. It wasn’t Mother Nature at her worst, but she kept everyone on their toes right from the get-go. Bonnyville farmer Taylor Snyder was helping a neighbour unload canola on Jan. 15 when the winds began to howl, […] Read more
In dry years, tall stubble can make all the difference in yields
Leaving tall stubble standing in the field can add an inch of soil moisture and boost yields by as much as 17 per cent
Reading Time: 3 minutes Large chunks of Alberta have seen some wet years recently, but water tends to be the most limiting factor for crop growth. And there’s only two remedies when it’s dry: Increase water supply and improve water-use efficiency, says an agrometeorologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Leaving tall stubble in the field does both those things, […] Read more
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