Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm – Although it’s still early in the growing season, some insect pests have already posed a threat to crops in Saskatchewan or could do so in the near future, according to James Tansey, provincial specialist for insects/invertebrate pest management. Among the pests he cited were grasshoppers, flea beetles and pea leaf weevils. Tansey said […] Read more

Insects posing problems in Saskatchewan crops
Grasshopper, flea beetle damage already reported

Feed weekly outlook: Weather market will determine grain prices
Old-crop pricing is starting to come down
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm – To Glen Loyns of JGL Commodities at Moose Jaw, Sask., feed grains on the Canadian Prairies are in a weather market, with prices for barley, wheat and corn quite able to go either way. “If it rains it’s going to be weak. If it’s dry it’s going to be higher. A pretty tough […] Read more

NEW FEATURE: Prairie Forecast: Summer has definitely moved in
Forecast issued May 31, 2023, covering May 31 to June 7, 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutes As we move into the official start of meteorological summer, it is looking like we have left spring behind and summer is here to stay. While this is great for those of us who like heat, humidity and thunderstorms, it can make it difficult to create an accurate forecast. The large areas of low pressure […] Read more

Prairie Forecast Update: A few small tweaks
Forecast issued May 28, covering the period from May 29 to 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute The weather regime across southern and central Canada is currently being dominated by a large sprawling surface high over eastern regions with a slowly digging trough of low pressure over the West Coast. The flows around these two features have been producing warm summer-like conditions across the eastern Prairies with slightly cooler conditions as you […] Read more

Olymel to idle multiple Prairie hog barns
Packer cites 'continued financial losses' in sector
Reading Time: 2 minutes Pork packer Olymel is preparing to dial back its hog production in Western Canada by shuttering six of its sow units in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Olymel, the agrifood arm of Quebec’s Sollio Cooperative Group, announced Friday it has served 80 employees with layoff notices at five sow units in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. The […] Read more

NEW FEATURE: Prairie Forecast: Summerlike conditions moving in
Forecast issued May 24, 2023, covering May 24-31, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes As we head into the final week of May, it is looking to be very summerlike across much of the Prairies. Currently there is a strong area of cool high pressure centred over the Great Lakes. This area of high pressure is what brought cool and windy conditions to the eastern Prairies on Wednesday. As […] Read more

Prairie Forecast Update: A few small tweaks
Update issued May 21, 2023, covering May 21-24, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes The weather models are continuing to do a good job with the short- to medium-range forecasts, but there have been a couple of small changes that have been slowly working into the forecast. Weak troughing off the West Coast is still forecasted to kick off the development of a leeside low in Alberta. This low […] Read more

No respite expected for wildfire-hit Alberta
Forecasts call for fire conditions to worsen
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Abnormally hot and dry weather is set to return to Alberta on Thursday after a couple of cooler days helped calm wildfires that have forced thousands of evacuations in the province. Record-high temperatures and tinder-dry vegetation have led to an intense, early start to wildfire season in Western Canada this year. […] Read more

Saskatchewan to top up some claims for wildlife-damaged forage
Affected producers in southwestern, west-central areas eligible
Reading Time: 2 minutes Producers in southwestern and west-central Saskatchewan who lost stacked forage to wildlife feeding last winter may see a bump up in their compensation. The Saskatchewan and federal governments on Wednesday announced a “supplemental freight adjustment” to their wildlife damage compensation program, administered by Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC). SCIC, the province said, has “reassessed and […] Read more

Prairie Forecast: Above-average temperatures to continue
Covering the period from May 17 to 24, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes The upper ridge that has been in place over much of B.C. and Alberta over the last few weeks looks to remain in place, at least for a few more days. There are some indications of a shift in the overall weather pattern towards a warm and wetter setup. As predicted, an area of low […] Read more