Reading Time: 9 minutes Stepping back and looking at the year gone past is a great way to prepare for the one ahead. For most producers, 2016 was a grind with a distinct shortage of highlight reel moments. But the world always moves forward and there were many significant changes that took place over the last 12 months. Here […] Read more
It likely wasn’t your greatest year, but 2016 was definitely eventful
Weather was the big story but it was also a year when pulses took centre stage, farm groups came together like never before, and sustainable beef hit a milestone
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, says our weather expert
Being snowed in at Christmas has many advantages, argues Daniel Bezte, but big Yuletide snowstorms are relatively rare
Reading Time: 3 minutes The holiday season is about traditions, and so it’s time once again to do my traditional look at Christmas weather across the Prairies. In particular, a look back to see what the warmest and coldest Christmases were, and if there have ever been big Christmas snowstorms. I’ve shared this with you before, but at this […] Read more
‘Modernize’ grain grading, says Alberta Wheat
farm group says farmers would make more if Canadian grain Commission changes grading for sprouting and fusarium damage
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta Wheat wants the Canadian Grain Commission to “modernize” its grading system, saying it doesn’t align with market demands of international buyers. “It all comes down to wanting more objective measurements for quality standards,” said Kevin Auch, chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission. “We’ve got some pretty good grading standards — don’t get me wrong […] Read more
Will it be a typical La Niña winter on the Prairies this year?
La Niña usually brings more snow and colder temperatures, but some forecasts are painting a different picture for this year
Reading Time: 3 minutes After nearly 11 months of global record-setting temperatures, North America has had its turn seeing the warmest weather on the planet — at least when compared to average. I’ll have to admit: It really bugs me when people use the infamous line, “Where is global warming now?” every time temperatures in their region are colder […] Read more
Harvest progress continues as winter looms
Alberta crop conditions as of November 15
Reading Time: < 1 minute With a rapidly shrinking harvest window and a few good weather days, producers made every effort to harvest as much crop as possible as the onset of winter looms on the horizon. Producers in the Central and North West regions made good progress raising the provincial harvest percentage to 87 per cent, an increase of […] Read more
Horrible fall harvest goes on and on
Many producers may have to delay seeding because they need to combine first
Reading Time: 3 minutes Keith Degenhardt thought last year’s harvest was bad. But then 2016 came along. The pedigreed seed grower from Hughenden estimated only about 60 per cent of the acres in east-central Alberta had been harvested by the end of October. “People have ordered dryers and some are putting crops in bags in hopes that they will […] Read more
Help for some producers with unharvested acres
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm Credit Canada is offering “flexibility to all customers” who have been hit hard by excessive moisture and delayed harvesting. “This year’s wet weather in parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba has certainly been challenging for many farmers whose crops have been affected by excessive moisture,” FCC president and CEO Michael Hoffort said in a […] Read more
Last five years were hottest on record
Morocco/Reuters – The past five years were the hottest on record with mounting evidence that heat waves, floods and rising sea levels are stoked by man-made climate change, the United Nations weather agency said on Tuesday. Some freak weather events would have happened naturally but the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said greenhouse gas emissions had […] Read more
Warm spell raises hopes as Canadian farmers race to finish harvest
Winnipeg/Reuters – Unusually warm temperatures in Western Canada are raising farmers’ hopes of a strong finish to a growing season of highs and lows, easing investors’ worries about the late harvest. Summer-like weather in Saskatchewan and Alberta, the two biggest wheat and canola-growing provinces in Canada — a top global exporter of both crops — […] Read more
Cool, wet weather continues to slow harvest
Alberta crop conditions as of November 1
Reading Time: 2 minutes Although the province did not receive much precipitation over the last week, continued cool, wet weather conditions were enough to slow down harvest progress. Provincially, about 76 per cent of crops are in the bin, 14 per cent swathed and 10 per cent still standing. Producers in the Southern, Central and North East Regions were […] Read more
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