Reading Time: 3 minutes Spring is the toughest time to forecast, but this spring is being particularly tough. The atmosphere is in a very meridional flow right now. That means there are lots of troughs and ridges. So, instead of a persistent westerly flow across our region we are seeing warm southerly flows as ridges build, followed by cool northerly flows as the ridges collapse and are replaced by troughs of low pressure.
Prairie forecast: Temperature rollercoaster to continue
Forecast issued April 16, covering April 16 to 23, 2025
Klassen: Feeder market returns to historical highs
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending April 12, Western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded stead to as much as $10 higher compared to seven days earlier. The market has fully recovered from U.S. tariff uncertainty. Strength in the fed cattle market and healthy feeding margins continue drive replacement prices upward.
Prairie forecast: Warm start, unsettled weekend across extreme south
Forecast issued April 9, covering April 9 to 16, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes When we have these battles between warm and cold air, there's always a good chance for a storm system or area of low pressure to develop. We've seen this happen a few times this spring and looking at the latest medium range weather models, the Prairies are likely in for a few more storms as the battle continues.
Klassen: Feeder market experiences volatility during U.S. tariff week
Reading Time: 2 minutes During the week ending April 5, the feeder market felt sluggish early in the week. Prices were a bit softer on Monday and by Wednesday morning, quoted values were $10 to as much $20 below week ago levels. After making weekly lows Wednesday, prices fully recovered to the previous week’s levels.
Prairie forecast: Two lows and a high
Forecast issued April 2, covering April 2 to 9, 2025
Reading Time: 2 minutes This forecast period looks to be be defined by two areas of low pressure, one spinning off the west coast and the other spinning over eastern Canada. Exactly how these two lows behave a move will have a big impact on temperatures across the central and eastern Prairies.
Klassen: Healthy feedlot margins supports feeder complex
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending March 29, Western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5/cwt lower to $5/cwt higher compared to seven days earlier. The price structure was largely determined by the crowd's mindset regarding potential U.S. tariffs.
Alberta-based Sunterra companies in financial, legal trouble
The home-grown company is renowned for its diversified model and value-added processing
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta-based Sunterra Farms has filed notice for protection under federal bankruptcy and insolvency laws to restructure itself financially while three of its U.S. subsidiaries face mounting legal and financial woes.
Prairie forecast: Spring storm could bring significant snow
Forecast issued March 26, covering March 26 to April 2, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes We start this forecast period with a strong area of low pressure pushing in off the southern coast of B.C. This low will bring very mild temperatures to southern Alberta on Wednesday and into Thursday. It will then help to develop an area of low pressure over south-central regions early Thursday morning.
Klassen: Feeder cattle follow live cattle futures higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending March 22, Western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded steady to $5 higher on average. Higher quality strings under 600 pounds traded $5 to as much as $10 higher in some cases but the lighter weight categories were quite variable across the Prairies.
Prairie forecast: Spring battle between warm and cold continues
Forecast issued March 19, covering March 19 to 26, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes For this forecast period the weather models are showing a fairly quiet weather pattern will only a couple of chances of light snow as weak systems track along the boundary between the cold Arctic air to our north and milder air to the south. This is the big question mark for this forecast period: just where will this boundary be?
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
