(Thinkstock photo)

Opinion: A drier world looms

The window of opportunity to address increasing drought and expanding drylands is vanishing

Chile, Argentina and the American West are in the midst of a decade-long, megadrought — the driest conditions those regions have seen in a century. And many areas in Western Canada and the United States are experiencing extreme drought — a once-in-20-year event. Drought makes agriculture less productive, reduces crop yields and increases heat-related deaths.

(Dave Bedard photo)

White House not ruling out a U.S. carbon tax

Option 'not off the table' despite Manchin comment

Washington | Reuters –– The White House on Tuesday said it has not ruled out a carbon tax as a possible option for fighting climate change, even though U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a critical holdout in the closely divided Senate, said he was not discussing the topic in talks about U.S. spending and infrastructure bills.



wade barnes

Big ag goes headhunting for carbon offsets

EMERGING | In a wild, wild west of carbon programming services, should producers buy in (or rather sell in) to the sales pitch?

As Canadian and U.S. carbon markets heat up, big ag companies are throwing their hats into the carbon offset program ring and looking to recruit farmers to produce those offsets. This June, fertilizer giant Nutrien rolled out a plan to expand its pilot carbon program which began last year. With about 200,000 acres enrolled in


(Flaman Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Clean ag tech adoption fund open for applications

Intake open and ongoing for Agricultural Clean Technology Program

A federal program farmers can use to invest in “cleaner” on-farm equipment — including money specifically for more efficient grain dryers — is now taking applications. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced the $165.7 million Agricultural Clean Technology Program is “now open to applicants.” First launched in 2018 and earmarked for expansion under



Top weather stories of 2020

Heat was the recurring theme for the year, and it manifested itself in many ways

Hard to believe another year has come to an end, and for most of us 2020 will be one to remember, but not necessarily for the best reasons. To begin the new year, I usually take a detailed look back at the previous year and then our customary look ahead to see what the new

Average sea surface temperature anomalies over the equatorial Pacific Ocean for the week centred on Oct. 28, 2020 compared to 1981-2010 base period. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

WMO officially calls a La Nina winter

MarketsFarm — A La Nina weather event has officially developed in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to continue into 2021, affecting temperatures, precipitation and storm patterns around the world, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The global declaration of the La Nina event by the United Nations’ agency will be used by governments


Karen Klassen and her father, George, farm near Manitou, Man.

Group calls for climate-resilient ag in COVID-19 recovery

Farmers faced a ‘double whammy’ of extreme weather and the pandemic this year, according to the group Farmers for Climate Solutions

Farmers for Climate Solutions is calling for the federal government to back financial incentives for climate-friendly farming practices as part of its COVID-19 response. “We think that new investments through this economic recovery plan must also prioritize climate resilience so it’s lasting,” said the coalition’s director, Karen Ross. This year, she added, farmers have faced

... there is some indication that excess heat entering the atmosphere from the large amount of open ocean in the Arctic helped to alter Arctic weather patterns.

Earth continues to run a fever

After weeks of rapid growth, October’s average sea ice extent came in at a record low

It’s been a while since we’ve looked at what has been happening, weather-wise, around the world, so I figured we should do that. To start off, we don’t have to go further than our own backyard. The global temperature anomalies for October have all come out and nearly all of the different reporting agencies agreed