Snow depth on the Prairies, an important number for overwintering wheat crops, has decreased by four centimetres from 1948 to 2012.

Payoffs and pressures for cereals in a changing Prairie climate

Warmer, wetter, longer growing seasons carry risks as well as rewards

Cereal crops in Western Canada will be influenced by climate change in the coming years — but the impact will depend on both the crop and the primary area of Western Canada where it’s grown. Barley and oats are grown primarily in the cooler regions of the Prairies and will benefit from a longer growing […] Read more



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Climate change worries Canadian farmers: poll

Data shows east-west split over climate, cost and government concerns

A poll released Dec. 11 suggests that Canadian farmers worry more about the impacts of climate change than they do about input costs and market prices for canola, corn, wheat and cattle.



Corteva’s next round of soybean product launches will be enhancements on products that are already available.

Changing weather, changing varieties

With growing conditions in flux, adaptability is a consideration for soybean developers

Climate change has had a huge impact on farm operations in Western Canada for some time. Those shifting temperatures and weather patterns are also playing a key role in how future varieties are being developed. Grainews recently spoke with several prominent seed companies about new soybean varieties they have in the development pipeline and the […] Read more


A soybean crop near St. Adolphe, south of Winnipeg, in September 2023. Manitoba is estimated to have planted 1.426 million acres to soy in 2024, down from 1.595 million in 2023.

Prairie soybean crops stand to benefit in changing climate

Conditions that have curbed soy acres in the West were more market-related than meteorological

Soybeans have been at the vanguard of longer-season crops moving into the Prairie region. The soybean area in Western Canada has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. Manitoba’s soybean acreage increased from zero to over one million acres in the first decade of the 2000s. Manitoba’s soybean acreage continued to increase in the past […] Read more

soybean research

Editor’s Rant: Seeds, saved

Against a changing climate, this is how we adapt

Before we all get much farther into this book, it needs to be said: Folks, we’re not trying to bright-side climate change here. It’s far beyond dispute that Earth’s climate is changing — in part due to natural factors over time such as changes in the sun’s radiation and the occasional volcano, but mainly due […] Read more


Canola growing with sun rising behind

Canola’s changing climes

Trends in the Prairies’ climate should generally be net good for canola crops, even as pest pressures here adjust accordingly

Canola cropping patterns in the Prairies may have to adapt to climate change in the coming years — but the changes should be relatively positive for production. Canola area continues to be the leader in Western Canada, with a total of 21.9 million acres sown this year according to Statistics Canada. This is over 3.2 […] Read more