File photo of winter wheat plants in snow. (Volodymyr Shtun/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. winter wheat to feel the cold

Crop off to 'a really bad start'

MarketsFarm — With frigid weather coming out of the Arctic, across the Canadian Prairies and into the U.S., there has been an upswing in wheat prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Prior to Christmas Day, temperatures are expected to fall as cold as -40 C in the northern Plains to below freezing in […] Read more

Drought expands across western Prairies

Drought expands across western Prairies

MarketsFarm — Drought conditions expanded across Alberta and Saskatchewan in October, with very little precipitation across the agricultural regions of the two provinces since August. That’s according to the latest Canadian Drought Monitor from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as of Oct. 31. At the end of that month, 72 per cent of the Prairie region […] Read more

U.S. special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry and Agriculture Sectretary Tom Vilsack applaud U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech at the COP27 climate summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Nov. 11, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

Farm climate innovation commitments at COP27 double to US$8 billion

Agriculture could outpace other industries to net zero: Vilsack

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | Reuters — An initiative led by the United States and the United Arab Emirates to help agriculture adapt to climate change and reduce emissions through innovation has doubled investment commitments to US$8 billion and extended its reach, it said on Friday. The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) was […] Read more

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

Cold, snowy start seen to Prairies’ winter

MarketsFarm — Although the official calendar start to winter isn’t until Dec. 21, conditions on the Canadian Prairies are now winter-like, according to Weatherlogics chief scientist Scott Kehler. “For the month of November, it looks like we’re off to a cold start for most of the Prairies. The western Prairies… had quite a significant winter […] Read more



Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn at Abbotsford, B.C. are rescued on Nov. 16, 2021 by people in boats and on a jet-ski after rainstorms lashed the province, triggering landslides and floods and shutting highways. (File photo: Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters)

Drought-stricken B.C. bracing for floods when rains return

Reuters — British Columbia on Thursday warned residents to prepare for flooding when rains eventually return after a prolonged drought exacerbated by climate change that has raised concerns about long-term damage to ecosystems ranging from glaciers to salmon rivers. The usually rainy western province has experienced weeks of record-breaking warm fall temperatures and minimal precipitation […] Read more

Workers pick raspberries at Masse, a berry farm operation in Saint Paul d’Abbotsford near Granby, Que.

Drought, high costs bring U.S. berry giants to Canada

A warming globe is pushing production into new regions as firms hedge their bets

A swath of Canada better known for maple syrup is being tested to mass produce berries normally grown in warmer locales. That makes the area an unexpected beneficiary of extreme weather, local demand and rising costs in traditional growing areas like California. Driscoll’s and grower-owned Naturipe Farms LLC, two of North America’s largest fruit sellers, […] Read more

Crediton-area mixed farmer Mike Groot watches as OMAFRA forage and grazing specialist Christine O’Reilly demonstrates use of the rising plate meter for measuring pasture yield during a Living Labs research plot tour at the Groot farm on Sept. 8,2022.

Pasture knowledge refined to reflect Ontario’s climate

University of Guelph, OMAFRA research uses rising plate meters to accurately measure pasture yield

A team of researchers aims to fine-tune recommendations for rotational grazing in Ontario and a key piece of that research is a tool called a rising plate meter. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) forage and grazing specialist Christine O’Reilly outlined use of the rising plate meter during a plot tour Sept. […] Read more


Photo: File

Soil moisture more critical than rainfall to estimate climate impact

Science Notes: Evaporation, infiltration and runoff can result in dramatic differences

You don’t need a PhD in agriculture to know that water is critical to crop production. But for years, people like Jonathan Proctor, who has a PhD in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of California Berkeley, have been trying to explain why the importance of water isn’t showing up in statistical models of […] Read more

The Mississippi River. (Mark D. Tomer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. barge backlog swells on parched Mississippi River

Chicago | Reuters –– Commercial barge traffic on southern stretches of the Mississippi River was at a standstill on Tuesday as low water levels halted shipments of grain, fertilizer and other commodities on the critical waterway, shipping sources said. The supply chain snarl comes just as harvesting of corn and soybeans, the largest U.S. cash […] Read more