A detailed look at Prairie heat and rainfall

A detailed look at Prairie heat and rainfall

It has been hot and dry across much of the region, but there’s variation within that trend

There have been more and more news stories coming out about the hot and dry conditions across the Prairies so far this summer, especially across Alberta and Saskatchewan. I figured we should take a little time to look at what has been happening weather-wise across the agricultural Prairies to see just what’s been going on.

Dry soil a concern for some on the Prairies

Dry soil conditions heading into winter could cause problems next spring. “There are some concerns with pasture recovery and just starting up the season next year,” said Trevor Hadwen, agro-climate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “In terms of native pasture, the dry fall doesn’t allow the recharge of the soil moisture, which doesn’t allow


Prairie feed barley bids strong

Cash bids for barley across Western Canada have seen an increase from last year. Limited supply on the Prairies and adverse weather conditions in the U.S. have contributed to the higher prices, particularly in Alberta. Bids at Lethbridge have moved up to anywhere between $5.75 and nearly $5.95 per bushel delivered to the feedlots, almost

Frost touches the Prairies

winnipeg / reuters / Temperatures dipped slightly below freezing on parts of the Canadian Prairies May 24 overnight, but damage to newly emerged crops looked to be minor, an agricultural meteorologist said. A few regions dipped slightly below freezing for several hours overnight, including parts of southern Alberta, southern and central Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba,

Saskatchewan pledges seven figures to wheat research

The Saskatchewan government has pledged $10 million over five years in new funding for development work on better, hardier wheats. The new support, to flow through the province’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), is meant to “accelerate” development of new varieties and help improve “yield, quality and tolerance to disease and extreme weather conditions.” The province


Dry winter a worry for cattle, winter wheat

Canada’s western farm belt is the driest it has been in five years, raising concerns for cattle and winter cereals. Large pockets of the Prairie provinces have received less than 40 per cent of normal precipitation during the past three months, according to federal Agriculture Department maps. “We have a lot of winter ahead of

Dry winter a worry for cattle, winter wheat

Canada’s western farm belt is the driest it has been in five years, raising concerns for cattle and winter cereals. Large pockets of the Prairie provinces have received less than 40 per cent of normal precipitation during the past three months, according to federal Agriculture Department maps. “We have a lot of winter ahead of

Nice Weather To End October

Believe it or not, but last week s forecast came out pretty close to what the weather models had predicted. The one main difference was the strength and size of the low that moved up from the south and ended up parking itself over Hudson Bay last weekend. This low, at its peak last Sunday,


Weekly weather map – for Aug. 25, 2011

The Weather Vane is prepared by Daniel Bezte, a teacher by profession with a BA (Hon.) in geography, specializing in climatology, from the University of Winnipeg. Daniel has taught university-level classes in climate and weather and currently operates a computerized weather station at his home near Birds Hill Park, on 10 acres he plans to

Weekly weather map – for Jul. 28, 2011

The Weather Vane is prepared by Daniel Bezte, a teacher by profession with a BA (Hon.) in geography, specializing in climatology, from the University of Winnipeg. Daniel has taught university-level classes in climate and weather and currently operates a computerized weather station at his home near Birds Hill Park, on 10 acres he plans to