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Prairie forecast: Mild with a chance of showers

A large area of low pressure stalled out just south of the Prairies early this week, bringing some much-needed significant rains that stretched from western Manitoba through Saskatchewan and into Alberta. This low is forecasted to rapidly break down over the next day or so and make way for some nice late-spring weather.

A farmer might not think this is an important issue, but if processors, retailers and consumers do, that farmer will have to meet the standard, regardless of their own feelings.

Editor’s Take: Accounting for change

A life of spreadsheets might not be for everyone, but accountancy is important work. It’s how we measure success, track expenses, and how we hold people and organizations accountable. A new report from one of Canada’s major accounting firms, Deloitte Canada, proposes a different application for accounting principles, one that farmers may not be accustomed



Understanding early and late frosts

It’s one of the biggest risks every growing season, and that risk is rising

Besides drought, frost probably has the greatest impact on agriculture. As any Prairie farmer knows all too well, untimely frosts can result in substantial losses and the length of the frost-free season restricts agricultural opportunities. Dates of the last spring or first fall frosts vary from year to year, but overall, they are relatively constant.


Deciding where to remove animals requires careful planning based on where CWD has been found.

Managing CWD means some deer have got to die

Animal removal, including hunting, will be key to nipping chronic wasting disease at the bud

British Columbia, like Manitoba, is in the early days of its fight against chronic wasting disease. Things are moving quickly, and they must. On March 13, the British Columbia government announced it would harvest deer in the Kootenays. The word came six weeks after CWD, a fatal prion disease in deer, elk, moose and caribou,

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Prairie forecast: Cool and unsettled weather to continue

Forecast issued May 1, 2024, covering May 1-8

The weather and subsequent forecasts lately have been—to state it simply—a mess. A very active but difficult to forecast pattern has developed across much of Canada and the northern U.S. states. This has brought damp and cool weather to most regions of the Prairies and unfortunately, it looks like this weather will be sticking around at least until the weekend.



The slow slide into drought

The current Prairie moisture situation is the result of years of ongoing precipitation deficits

We had a fairly major storm system on the Prairies last week, but it was not strong enough to warrant major attention. Manitoba received the most moisture from this system, with widespread 20 to 30 millimetres of rain mixed with snow. The northern half of agricultural Saskatchewan, along with the far eastern regions, also saw


Daughter Kateryna Zhovtyak founded a bakery before the war, but is now in uniform.

From Ukraine: On the home front

Polina Zhovtyak keeps the home fires burning as her husband and daughter serve in the Ukrainian army

After more than two years of all-out war, I have heard many incredible stories of people and how they cope, survive and even thrive. At times I think I will be surprised by nothing. In some parts of the country, in relatively peaceful regions, some live much as they did before the war. In other