Reading Time: 3 minutes After a fairly mild first half of November, things have turned cooler and a little more wintery. While it’s beginning to look like winter might have moved in for good, the long-range models seem to be really hanging their hats on El Niño bringing more above-average temperatures in December and right through the rest of […] Read more
Dreaming of a warm Christmas? El Niño may grant your wish
Winter is still winter, but history says the El Niño phenomenon brings above-average temperatures
Soil moisture in Alberta improves after wet fall
Reading Time: < 1 minute Late-October rains caused harvest delays for many, but the three to five millimetres were near to below average. And in most areas south of Red Deer, conditions were quite dry over the first two months of fall. Most areas in the province experienced at least near-normal accumulations of precipitation during September and October, although some […] 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
When margins are tight, you need to know where you stand
Calculating your current ratio will tell you if you’re in good shape — or if trouble is heading your way
Reading Time: 2 minutes Commodity prices and the weather have been volatile and expenses are trending upwards because of a weaker Canadian dollar — so now is a good time to review your marketing plan. “If you aren’t paying attention to your marketing plan or don’t have one, you may find yourself with a reduced margin,” said provincial financial […] Read more
Light rains delay harvest, province estimates more than half complete
Alberta crop conditions as of September 29, 2015
Reading Time: 2 minutes Over the weekend, most parts of the province received light rains which were enough to delay harvesting operations. However, producers were able to make better harvest progress this past week than during the previous week. Harvest is estimated to be 58 per cent completed provincially, up 12 per cent from last week. While 25 per […] Read more
Rain slows harvest, producers seeing better than expected yields
Alberta crop conditions as of September 8, 2015
Reading Time: 2 minutes Producers were only able to make limited harvest progress this past week as a general rain covered virtually all areas of the province. Beginning Friday of the long weekend, amounts of 35 – 60 mm fell in the South, Central, North East and North West regions while lesser amounts of 15 – 30 mm fell […] Read more
Why does El Niño have such a big impact on our weather?
It’s all about heat and the atmosphere’s aversion to imbalances when it comes to hot and cold
Reading Time: 4 minutes A few weeks ago while waiting for a triathlon to start, a thunderstorm rolled through the region forcing everyone to run for shelter. While listening to people talk during the storm I overheard a weather-related idea or story that I’ve actually been mulling in my head for a while now, but I still haven’t figured […] Read more
Alberta producers making good harvest progress
Alberta crop conditions as of September 1, 2015
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta producers were able to make good harvest progress this past week with the South region showing the greatest advancement. Thick smoke haze in the atmosphere reduced temperatures and slowed drying across much of the province. High winds in southern Alberta helped to dry crops but also caused damage by blowing swaths and breaking heads. […] Read more
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
Beat high winds by anchoring your bins
More extreme weather coupled with modern bins that are taller and lighter is a recipe for trouble
Reading Time: 3 minutes It doesn’t matter what side of the climate change debate you’re on, few producers would deny that, for whatever reason, weather is getting more extreme. Between hurricane-force winds and the generally lighter and taller designs of many modern grain bins, there seems to be more instances of grain bins being knocked over or otherwise damaged. […] Read more