Western Canadian farmers are using minimum and zero-till farming, tile drainage, slow-release fertilizer, and better crop breeding to produce record crops despite drought conditions.
Tag Archives drought
How Canada’s farmers are producing record crops despite droughts and floods
Prolonged drought causes unprecedented productivity loss: Study
Colorado State University — Extreme, prolonged drought conditions in grasslands and shrublands would greatly limit the long-term health of crucial ecosystems that cover nearly half the planet, says new research published in the journal Science. “Climate change is bringing more severe and longer-lasting droughts to many locations around the world. Some ecosystems have shown resilience […] Read more
Livestock Tax Deferral regions announced for drought-affected producers
Cattle producers in large swaths of Western Canada and northwest Ontario will qualify for Livestock Tax Deferral in 2025, federal agriculture minister Heath MacDonald announced on Monday.
Western Canadian agriculture’s growing thirst
Editor’s Boss: Atmospheric dryness is adding a third dimension to the moisture equation driving Prairie crop yields and wildfires
Earth’s air is getting thirstier — a desiccating phenomenon researchers say has increased the intensity of global droughts by 40 per cent over the past four decades.
Taking dairy wastewater to the irrigation pivot, via wetlands
A new nature-based solution could help dairy farmers in Alberta against water shortages
Many Alberta dairy farms rely on irrigation water to grow feed crops to sustain their cattle herds, but drought and water shortages in recent years has made that more difficult. Federal ag researchers are seeking one of those dairy farms to help develop a possible new source.
Governments offer aid to drought-affected Manitoba livestock producers
Manitoba and the federal governement are teaming up to support Manitoba livestock producers who are being hit hard by drought conditions.
Research focuses on drought tolerant alfalfa
Yellow flowers could help scientists breed new varieties that cope with dry conditions
Exotic alfalfa varieties that produce white, blue, cream and yellow flowers are being looked at by plant breeders to improve the crop's drought tolerance.
Importance placed on cow herd size questioned
Some in the cattle sector don’t think policy should focus on expanding herd; others say fewer cows limit check-off revenue
The number of cows in the provincial herd is not necessarily the best measure of a successful industry, yet that is the focus of public policy, says the Sask. Stock Growers Assoc.
‘Amber waves of grain’ recede in America’s heartland as wheat farmers struggle
Midwestern farmers abandoning wheat crops as profits recede, weather challenges
The Great Plains have long been celebrated for the “amber waves of grain” in the popular hymn “America the Beautiful.” The region’s states produce most of the U.S.-grown crop of hard red winter wheat, favored by bakers for bread. But with prices hovering around $5 (C$6.86) per bushel, U.S. wheat farmers have reached an inflection point, with many forced to either lose money, feed wheat to cattle or kill off the crop.
Barren fields, dry wells: after war, drought ravages Syrian farms
Digging wells adds costs as harvests fail; many farmers have heavy debts, want assistance
Syrian farmers hoped for some reprieve after Islamist rebels ended Assad' 24 years of autocratic rule in December, but a devastating drought and continued water theft mean their crops are still dying, their pears and plums withering on the branch.
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