Starting in 2010, precipitation deficits started to accumulate, with a small recharge occurring between 2013 and 2016.

How dry is it you ask? A precipitation deficit of over one metre

A meteorological drought can become agricultural, hydrological and/or socio-economic

I have had several questions about the dry weather and there have been several small articles in the news discussing the drought we are currently experiencing. So, for this article I figured we should explore the topic of droughts and do just a little bit of digging into just how bad this current drought really

(Dave Bedard photo)

Ag department lowers crop production, export estimates

Expectations knocked down for most major Prairie crops

MarketsFarm — Canadian crop production will be down significantly in the 2021-22 marketing year, cutting into exports for all of the country’s major grains, oilseeds and pulse crops. That’s the estimation from the latest supply/demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), released Thursday. Total field crop production for all crops is forecast to decrease


A recent crop report indicates harvest yields so far this year vary from less than half of normal to normal.

Crop insurance prepared for hefty drought payouts this year

The program, founded in 1960, is designed to be actuarially sound

There’s enough money to cover Manitoba crop insurance payouts in the wake of this year’s drought, the worst in years, says David Van Deynze. Despite an early harvest due to dry and hot growing conditions, Van Deynze, chief product officer with the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC), which administers the federal-provincial program, says it’s too

CBOT December 2021 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn climbs on weaker crop conditions

Soybeans mixed, wheat eases

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures climbed on Wednesday for a second day after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut crop ratings on Monday afternoon, though beneficial rainfall across parts of the upper U.S. Midwest limited gains. Soybeans ended higher after the market made its biggest daily gain since late June on Tuesday, with


Decade-long Chilean drought underscores global warming threat

Decade-long Chilean drought underscores global warming threat

Decline in available reserves prompts Latin American country to make it a ‘national priority’

Reuters – A punishing, decade-long drought in Chile has gone from bad to worse due to a scorching July, a month which typically brings mid-winter weather showering the capital Santiago in rain and snow. But a lack of precipitation this year has left the towering and typically snowcapped Andes above the city mostly bare, reservoir



Cattle numbers increase as fall season begins

Cattle numbers increase as fall season begins

Early start to fall run reflects unseasonably hot and dry weather

Despite only having 259 feeder and butcher cattle going through the rings on Aug. 10, Grunthal Livestock Auction Mart was one of a few auction sites across the province beginning their season early due to unseasonably hot and dry weather. While there weren’t enough feeders to establish a market, 109 to be exact, auctioneer and sales representative Brad

“We’re going to see something similar to what we saw last year and other years where the asking price might be 12.5 cents, but the market will only be able to bear somewhat less than that price, and if that happens, then we’re going to continue to see a reduction in the number of cattle that are being overwintered.” – John McGregor, MFGA.

Little relief expected from second cut hay

Hay will cost producers a pretty penny, what little there is

If producers were hoping the second cut might take the sting out of Manitoba’s feed crisis, they’ll be disappointed. Conditions vary, according to Carson Callum, general manager of the Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP), but anecdotes suggest that second cut will be “very poor or non-existent,” depending on region. Why it matters: With all the stressors


The Canadian Drought Monitor map for 2021. (see below for maps from 1961 and 1988)

A long dry cycle

The current drought crisis has been building for several years and costs are compounding

As farmers settled in for the winter late last fall, agrometeorologists were already looking ahead with worry to the 2021 growing season. After a pair of dry years, the typical fall recharge of ground moisture had failed to materialize, and they realized that the stage was being set for a major challenge the following year.

This isn’t the first time eastern Canadian farmers have come to the West’s aid.

East Coast farmers pledge to send hay aid

Over the past two decades, producers both east and west have rallied to send hay to drought-hammered farmers

East Coast farmers with an abundance of hay may soon be sending it to the drought-devastated West, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture announced August 12. “CFA is currently in the initial stages of facilitating a new Hay West program,” said CFA president Mary Robinson in a news release. “We have our staff as well as