The odds of much-needed precipitation in Western Canada this spring will depend on how quickly the Pacific Ocean transitions out of El Nino, but even if a switch to La Nina opens the door to more moisture, it likely won’t be enough to replenish low water supplies in the driest areas of the Prairies, according… Read More
Category: Drought
Western Canadian farmers and ranchers have endured several years of drought over the last five seasons. While AgriRecovery and other national drought programming has been triggered in all the Prairie Provinces, there are other provincial insurance products available. Both Saskatchewan and Alberta have modified moisture deficiency insurance products in the last two years, with Alberta… Read More
The last time Shaun Haney sat down with Matt Makens, of Makens Weather, the possibility of moisture returning to Western Canada was slim. Now, as the two reconnect in person at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association #CattleCon, Makens has a little more confidence that the west could indeed see some early — and desperately needed —… Read More
Producers impacted by drought in 2023 have more time to apply for the 2023 Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program announced in late October. The AgriRecovery application deadline has been extended to March 15, 2024. The submitted application needs to indicate the number of breeding animals on hand as of August 21, 2023, and kept until January 31,… Read More
The Government of Saskatchewan is freezing the 2024 Crown land grazing rates at 2022 levels, as the industry continues to deal with the effects of several years of dry conditions, the province says. Saskatchewan has approximately 6 million acres of Crown land under grazing leases. Crown grazing rates are set annually using a formula based… Read More
All eyes are on the skies as this Canadian winter stops and starts and howls and mellows from west to east. For many regions, there’s been snow, storms, rain, a warm up, and cold temps, all within a few weeks of each other. To get a sense of what’s happening now with weather patterns, and… Read More
Canada has a global reputation of having abundant, clean water, and water is essential for life and for food security. A new report from the Canadian Agriculture Policy Institute (CAPI) takes a look at Canada’s water resource and whether or not it’s being managed to the full benefit of Canadians. Tyler McCann, managing director of… Read More
Applications are open, as of Oct. 26, for the 2023 Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program — the title that’s been given to the federal and provincial AgriRecovery initiative aimed at helping livestock producers in Saskatchewan affected by drought. Producers in eligible parts of the province can find more info and application forms through the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance… Read More
The federal government, along with the provincial governments of Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan, have announced a total commitment of $365 million for AgriRecovery programs to help livestock producers affected by drought and wildfires this past summer. The awaited AgriRecovery funding, application details and timelines were announced on Friday, Oct 20. The total federal commitment to… Read More
Details on anticipated AgriRecovery programs to assist drought-stricken livestock producers in Alberta and Saskatchewan could be coming soon — possibly in the next week, according to Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister. Federal officials signalled back in August that they had agreed to move ahead on offering AgriRecovery disaster relief programs together with the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments…. Read More
Persistent drought has been hard on the Saskatchewan cow herd, but the lack of workable business risk management programs will be harder on it still. Jeff Yorga, first vice president with the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, says that ranchers in the province are still waiting for the the federal government to finalize details on the… Read More
There are few things as talked about between farmers as the weather. For a huge part of the Prairies, most conversations revolve around moisture, and as we very quickly approach the fall season many farmers are thinking ahead to snowfall expectations. There are many weather and moisture prediction methods out there, but even meteorologists will… Read More
Do you mark weather events such as fog or hoar frost on the calendar as predictors of what’s to come? Do you track down caterpillars to measure their stripes as an indication of the winter ahead? Does a fall full moon bring frost? Unlike most people, the weather has a profound impact on the livelihoods… Read More
The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are reporting a record-breaking level of payments under the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) Forage Rainfall Insurance Program. Total 2023 program indemnities paid have totalled $60.4 million across SCIC’s 17 forage risk zones. A forage rainfall claim is triggered when the precipitation at a selected weather station is below… Read More
A version of this article was first published at NDSU.com. It has been edited for clarity and length. As drought conditions continue across Western Canada, there are many parts of the U.S. that are in the same situation. Cattle ranchers are especially seeing the impacts of drought, as cows are very quickly moving home and… Read More