File photo of a snow-topped field in Alberta. (Don White/iStock/Getty Images)

Snow, cold grind Alberta harvest to virtual standstill

MarketsFarm — Last weekend’s dump of snow coupled with cold temperatures brought the Alberta harvest to a complete halt, according to the province’s latest crop report. For the week ended Oct. 1, the province-wide harvest managed to improve to 33.7 per cent from 28.1 per cent the previous week. This year’s pace was slightly above […] Read more

Fall rye flowering in south-central Manitoba. (Allan Dawson photo)

Fall rye’s popularity catching on Prairies

CNS Canada — It’s good and bad news when it comes to winter cereal acreage in Western Canada. Winter wheat acres in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are down this fall, while acreage in Alberta increased, and fall rye acres in all provinces rose. “I think a lot of the guys that were growing winter wheat have […] Read more

Canola south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 3, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie crop tour sees slightly bigger wheat, canola yields

Saskatoon | Reuters — Canadian farmers were on track to reap slightly larger wheat and canola yields, despite dry conditions and a wide discrepancy in growth rates, a crop tour estimated on Thursday. The inaugural Grain World crop tour, organized by FarmLink Marketing Solutions, toured the Prairie provinces on Tuesday and Wednesday. Moisture conditions vary […] Read more

Late-season snowstorm brings Prairies moisture

CNS Canada — After a winter spent waiting for snow, farmers across the southern Prairies were happy when the forecast was right and Western Canada received a late winter snowstorm. “We’ve heard moisture’s coming before and it doesn’t show up or it goes around us. So when it started snowing and it started adding up […] Read more


Sea surface temperature anomalies (in degrees Celsius) over the equatorial Pacific for the week centred on Feb. 21. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Spring outlook cooler for Prairies, warmer for Ontario

Growers in parts of Ontario may get an early start on planting this spring, while Prairie fields may see lingering snow and later-than-average last frosts. WeatherFarm’s spring forecast, powered by U.S.-based DTN Progressive Farmer, projects a cold start to the spring as likely for the western half of Canada, reversing the milder conditions shown over […] Read more


Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies in degrees Celsius for the week centred on Sept. 27. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

La Nina could return cold, snowy tradition to Prairies

CNS Canada — The world’s major weather forecasters predict a slightly better than 50 per cent chance that a La Nina weather pattern will occur this fall and winter. Most Prairie farmers could see good things happening if the system does materialize, because La Nina systems tend to bring what many people think of as […] Read more


Canola south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 3, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Harvest weather outlook offers reasons to cheer

CNS Canada — Farmers on the Prairies can expect decent weather for this harvest season, according to Drew Lerner, meteorologist and founder of World Weather Inc. Most farmers will experience periodic showers, he said, but shouldn’t be subjected to the continual drizzles and sheets of rain that caused heartaches last year. “Most of the Prairies […] Read more

Southern Saskatchewan dry, but Prairies mostly OK for now

CNS Canada — Dry conditions in southern Saskatchewan are cause for vigilance, but rain could still pull out a healthy harvest, according to a provincial soil and nutrient specialist. The area of concern lies within a triangle shape, with the northern tip at Saskatoon, one arm stretching southeast to Weyburn, Estevan and the U.S. border, […] Read more