Reading Time: < 1 minute It was a near-record year for claims in Western Canada “despite a decrease in overall storm activity,” says the Canadian Crop Hail Association. Claim payments to Prairie farmers topped $322 million, and were up 78 per cent compared to the five-year average. It was the highest payout since 2008 and meant insurers, which collected $309 […] Read more
Hail payouts exceed premiums in 2021
CN rerouting trains, aims to re-open line to Vancouver on weekend
Reuters — Canadian National Railway (CN) said Wednesday it was aiming to reopen its track in the crucial Kamloops-to-Vancouver corridor in flood-hit British Columbia this weekend. The Pacific province, trying to rebuild after devastating floods in November, received more rain over the weekend and this week. CN operates one of the two critical rail lines […] Read more
British Columbia braces for more heavy rain
Ottawa | Reuters — British Columbia is facing more heavy rains as the province tries to recover from massive floods and mudslides, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth told reporters on Tuesday. Farnworth said crews were working to shore up dikes and dams, adding some roads would be closed protectively. Flooding over Nov. 14-16 in Canada’s […] Read more
B.C. extends fuel restrictions following flooding
Agricultural and farm-use vehicles exempted as 'essential'
Reuters — Government officials in British Columbia on Monday extended restrictions on the use of fuel by residents, saying it was needed for emergency vehicles as the region recovers from devastating floods. The order, first issued on Nov. 19, limits vehicles deemed “non-essential” by the government to 30 litres of gasoline or diesel fuel per […] Read more
B.C. floods put the spotlight on ‘vulnerable’ rail corridor
Transport sector needs to ‘learn our lessons’ after unprecedented number of washouts and slides
Reading Time: 6 minutes It could take months for grain movement to fully recover from the catastrophic flooding in B.C. that buried rail lines in mud and debris or washed away the ground under the tracks. And the unprecedented damage has highlighted the risk that Prairie farmers face in getting their grain to port. “The rail system there has […] Read more
The threat from ‘rivers in the sky’
Reading Time: 3 minutes An ‘atmospheric river’ on the West Coast caused unprecedented damage and shut down Alberta’s vital link to the sea. So, we thought it important to ask, ‘what is this weather phenomenon and will it happen again?’ A new term: Atmospheric River The unprecedented and catastrophic flooding in B.C. brought yet another climate term into the […] Read more
Feeding cattle this winter is all about striking the right balance
Determine your priorities, feed test and then take a look at alternate feed sources
Reading Time: 4 minutes Whether feeding in a normal year or through a drought, cattle producers need to look at nutrition from a “40,000-foot vantage point” to make the most of their feed. “No matter what we’re doing, we’re always striving to get that perfect mix and perfect balance so that everything is used to its optimum,” Barry Yaremcio […] Read more
CN to reopen to Vancouver Wednesday
Prince Rupert also available, CN reminds shippers
Canadian National Railway (CN) says it’s almost set to resume some service to Vancouver, starting early Wednesday. Montreal-based CN said in an emailed statement Tuesday that repair work on damaged sections of its track from Kamloops to Vancouver “progressed well over the weekend” and the line will reopen to “limited traffic” tomorrow “barring any unforeseen […] Read more
CP to reopen rail corridor to Vancouver Tuesday
B.C. storm led to damage in 30 separate spots, railway says
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) plans to have its rainstorm-battered mainline between Kamloops and Vancouver reopened to grain and other traffic around midday Tuesday. The company said Monday that out of 30 storm-damaged spots across its Thompson and Cascade subdivisions in southern British Columbia, 20 had seen “significant loss of infrastructure” in need of repair. CP […] Read more
Grain flow uncertain as floods halt B.C. rail, road traffic
MarketsFarm — It’s too early yet to determine the effect of massive floods in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland on grain movement, according to the company monitoring Canada’s grain handling and transportation system. Up to 200 millimetres of rain earlier this week have triggered mudslides and cut access to rail lines and highways east of Vancouver. […] Read more