Weather & Production Tips

BNSF crews clear track near Lemmon, S.D., about 300 km northeast of Rapid City, in late December 2016. (BNSF.com)

Snow, avalanches, rain delay grain movement to U.S. ports

By Reuters, GFM Network News February 10, 2017

Chicago | Reuters — Severe winter weather has slowed rail deliveries of crops to shippers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, sending freight rates soaring and prompting Asian buyers to seek fill-in loads as they wait for the backlog at ports to clear. Blizzards, avalanches and heavy rain in recent weeks have hit transport of corn, […] Read more

Snow on farmland at Turtle Lake in northwestern Saskatchewan on Oct. 14, 2016. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Crops, Weather

Saskatchewan snowpack points to below-normal runoff

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News February 9, 2017

Thanks to above-normal temperatures that drew down much of Saskatchewan’s snowpack in January, the province now sees “below normal runoff potential” in most areas outside the southeast. Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency on Thursday released its 2017 preliminary outlook for spring runoff, noting the province has another six to 10 weeks of possible snowpack development. The […] Read more

Sea surface temperature anomalies in degrees Celsius for the week centred on Feb. 1, 2017. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Crops, Reuters, Weather

U.S. forecaster says La Nina faded, sees El Nino potential

By Reuters, GFM Network News February 9, 2017

Reuters — A U.S. weather forecaster on Thursday said La Nina has faded and neutral conditions are likely to continue in the coming months, though it noted some chance that the El Nino phenomenon may reappear as early as the Northern Hemisphere spring. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the National Weather Service, […] Read more

Columns, Hart Attacks, Weather

The federal carbon tax is already working!

Hart Attacks: It's a miracle. I haven't been feeling any global warming on the Prairies this January 

By Lee Hart February 7, 2017

I don’t know what the country is whining about. Alberta’s Climate Change Leadership program (I love that label), also known as a carbon tax, IS WORKING! As I pointed out to my inner circle in an earlier Facebook post, January 2017 is already much colder than it was in late December 2016, so just having […] Read more

A Zamboni machine at work. (Zamboni Co. via YouTube)

Crops, Machinery, Reuters, Weather

B.C. police stop farmer clearing snowy street with Zamboni

By Reuters, GFM Network News February 7, 2017

Vancouver | Reuters — Police stopped a “well-intentioned” farmer on Vancouver Island on Monday night after he tried to clear a snowed-in neighbourhood street with a Zamboni, a vehicle for cleaning ice rinks and a fixture in arenas across Canada. Central Saanich police spokesman Dan Cottingham said on Tuesday the man told them he had […] Read more

Bale grazing is one of the popular options for winter grazing, especially when you have good ranch help.

Cattleman’s Corner, Forages, Weather

Winter grazing begins before Dec. 1

Don't assume winter grazing won’t work ‘here’ — look at the options

By Sean McGrath January 30, 2017

I confess, I am a winter grazier. I love grazing cows in the wintertime. I like reducing my labour and cutting my costs. I like free time for spending with kids or writing Grainews articles. Truth be told, I even like riding saddle horses in the cold, as a lot of our terrain is not […] Read more

Stripe rust overwintered further north than usual going into the 2016 growing season, Cargill’s Linda Freitag said at SWAC. (OMAFRA photo)

Crops, Weather

Greig: Lessons learned from Ontario crops’ pest pressures

By GFM Network News January 9, 2017

The warmer winter and subsequent drought defined the 2016 cropping season in Ontario, resulting in more disease and insect pressures and then challenges managing them. Three agronomists gave an overview of the 2016 cropping season at the SouthWest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown, outlining challenges and wins for the year. Leanne Freitag, Cargill’s manager of agronomy […] Read more

A close-up of emerging corn seedlings north of London, Ont. on May 24, 2016. (Ralph Pearce photo)

Corn, Crops, Soybeans, Weather

StatsCan confirms drought impact on Ontario yield

By GFM Network News December 9, 2016

Statistics Canada has confirmed what most farmers in Ontario knew this past summer: Hot and droughty conditions drove production of corn and soybeans almost 10 per cent lower than 2015 levels. StatsCan’s harvest report, released this week, also showed the large wheat crop in Ontario was a record, with a 56 per cent increase in […] Read more

Livestock, Reuters, Weather

Polar vortex redux? U.S. forecasters say it could hit next week

By GFM Network News December 8, 2016

Chicago | Reuters –– Forecasters are sending chills down some spines with a prediction that much of the northern half of the U.S. could see frigid weather next week similar to life-threatening lows the polar vortex brought to parts of the country in 2014. Anticipation of a freezing blast began to build this week when […] Read more

Anomalies in weekly averaged sea surface temperature (Celsius) over the Pacific for the week centred on Nov. 30, 2016. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Livestock, Reuters, Weather

U.S. forecaster sees weak La Nina likely to fade in early 2017

By Reuters, GFM Network News December 8, 2016

New York | Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday said weak La Nina conditions were present but favoured to dissipate in the coming months. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said in a monthly forecast that conditions were likely to transition back to neutral during January through March. The report said […] Read more

Daily Network News

Southern California honeybees show resistance to varroa mites

Pulse Weekly: SaskPulse optimistic despite input, crop price concerns

Canadian aquaculture should be classed as agriculture, industry groups say

Weather