Three distinct factors are likely to drive the type of weather farmers and ranchers experience in Manitoba this winter, Daniel Bezte writes, starting this issue with a look at the atmospheric event known as La Niña.
Tag Archives Climate
Forecasting winter 2025-26 in Manitoba
A weak La Niña is in play again this winter, but its effects aren’t clear
More rainfall for Prairie farmers
As the atmosphere warms, farmers on the Canadian Prairies could see more heavy rainfalls
Heavy rain may become more common as the climate on the Canadian Prairies makes more of the storm types that produce it.
Cutting nitrogen in dry beans could pay off for farmers
Manitoba trials test whether farmers can apply less nitrogen to dry beans without losing yield, despite their typically poor nitrogen-fixing capacity
Manitoba research is testing whether applying less nitrogen fertilizer in dry beans can maintain yields while cutting costs and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Warmer and wetter future for Prairie farms
Higher humidity and intense rainfall events are all but inevitable as the planet warms
Warming oceans and warming air translate to more humidity. For Manitoba farmers, greater availability of water vapour will make it more likely for precipitation events to tend to the extreme.
Prairie weather could mean higher prices
Lack of rainfall is putting some snap into new crop canola contracts
A number of factors including climbing crude oil prices and likey biofuel policy changes in the U.S. are driving canola futures contracts higher.
Farm climate adaptation on tap with MFGA project
Modelling to weigh how Manitoba farms will be impacted by climate change and how they can adapt more climate resilient farming
Modelling to weigh how Manitoba farms will be impacted by climate change and how they can adapt more climate resilient farming.
A wetter and drier world awaits Prairie farmers
Both are true, as warming supercharges the water cycle
Warming oceans will have a huge impact on global climate. They’ll add more energy to the system, like fuel on a fire.
USDA announces new interim rule for biofuel guidelines
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a new interim rule on Jan. 15, 2025 to aid production of biofuel feedstock crops as well as promote climate-smart agriculture.
What are atmospheric rivers and why do they cause flooding?
Atmospheric rivers are storms akin to rivers in the sky that dump massive amounts of rain and can cause flooding, trigger mudslides and result in loss of life and enormous property damage.
Farmworkers in the US cultivate their own heat safety standards
Fair Food Program seeks to circumvent slow regulatory process
While regulations to protect agricultural workers from the heat have been held up by political wrangling, Gonzalo and her colleagues have spearheaded an alternate strategy. They seek to sidestep the slow and increasingly politicized government machinery and instead appeal directly to consumers and large brands.