Drought Watch 2021

[helmsdale]

Modelling is an imprecise science at best, but as of late, the trend has not been our friend... And these ECMWF forecasts are most certainly not friendly!

[redleaf]

Been one of the driest spells I can remember for a long time. Short barley here is already forming heads in the boot and establishing yield in the oncoming heat will not mean high yields. Beer can height canola is bolting all over the neighbourhood. Hanging on with subsoil moisture for the meantime.

[jazz]

Did a little probing myself this am. There is moisture down there a couple inches and can carry the crop a while.

The potential for heat blasting in the canola will be the biggest issue for us.

[seldomseen]

Probed a few fields this morning and the first 6 inches is semi dry with a little moisture. The next 6 inches is wet clay. By the look of the canola its not getting the moisture that's down in the lower 6 yet or its not able to bring that moisture up yet. Kind of looks like the main tap root goes down about 4 inches. Plants are small and starting to bolt.

[Guest]

Did a little probing myself this am. There is moisture down there a couple inches and can carry the crop a while.

The potential for heat blasting in the canola will be the biggest issue for us.

for everyone actually
with a prairie wide forecast like that , crop size is declining every day
what will Neil say ???????????????

[WiltonRanch]

for everyone actually
with a prairie wide forecast like that , crop size is declining every day
what will Neil say ???????????????

Whatever pads his fat wallet.

[sumdumguy]

1988 all over again. Protect what is there. There’s a hungry world.

[dmlfarmer]

Hopefully one day some of you will figure it out .
One small piece of evidence is the false presumption that growing seasons in western Canada are now longer ... that was being pushed two years ago
Absolutely not true , but it’s like beating a dead horse because the truth stood in the way of the narrative being pushed .
Yes we are getting a one week heat wave now and it will be all over every msm , social media .. everywhere
But not a word of the 5 frosts at the end of May , another 1 or 2 in June depending on location ... that’s just as extraordinary as this heat wave but will be ignored, just like the August frosts and early September snows that devastated crops in huge areas in western Canada the past few years . Why ? Cause it does not fit the narrative , but today sure does
DYODD .... there is much more to what’s going on than carbon , but majority of people can’t think for themselves anymore .

And who says growing seasons in western Canada are not longer? You because of frosts in your little part of the prairies? Show me one scientific study showing growing seasons are not getting longer in western Canada. Yes there may be pockets where late spring and early fall frosts happen but could that not be the extremes and variablity to be expected with a warming world that we have warned about.

I have DMODD, and I have found lots of credible, peer reviewed studies showing a lenghtening of the growing season. Probably the best in out of the U of L looking at Alberta growing season length, frost free days and a host of other climatic factors between 1950 and 2017 across the province. Yes, there is a small area around Grand Cache and other in East Central Alberta which did not show longer growing season or GDDs but it is small pockets. Lots of places have gained 2 weeks or more in growing season The trend lines are easy to see at http://www.albertaclimaterecords.com/ http://www.albertaclimaterecords.com/

Natural Resources Canada has this chart of the increasing lenght of growing season in Canada

It is happening in the US too. This Chart from EPA

"During 1991-2011, the average frost-free season was about 10 days longer than during 1901-1960." https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/frost-free-season https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/frost-free-season

"The average U.S. growing season has been extended by about two weeks, according to data collected from 1900 to 2014. University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers have assembled a region-by-region composite of how climate change has affected agricultural timelines and yields of six crops throughout the United States." https://www.agupdate.com/agriview/news/crop/climate-change-extending-growing-season/article_cd0a0bb9-889b-52a5-94e4-5550379dcb0f.html https://www.agupdate.com/agriview/news/crop/climate-change-extending-growing-season/article_cd0a0bb9-889b-52a5-94e4-5550379dcb0f.html

Again, my point is that just like antivaxers, you base your claim on a very small subset of data. Just because a frost happened to you does not mean growing seasons are not lenghtening.

[Sheepwheat]

I’m on the other side of the province as furrow, and I’ll vouch for the same thing. I would also vouch that summer temperatures have plummeted since records started being taken on this farm. Anyone else want to jump in and put this dml in his place?

[dmlfarmer]

Dml what do you consider to be action against it? What are you doing personally to take action against it?

My thought is this, if government actually believes what it says that, the amount of C02 in the atmosphere has already guaranteed that the climate will warm, should we not be spending money making the crops we grow more resilient to heat. Wheat and Barley are most productive at 20-25* celsius, flowering during a period over +30 greatly reduces yield. Wouldn’t money be better spend on adapting our food production to tolerate the change in climate? What about relocating peoples residences out of flood plains? The list goes on. But in reality the government is spending its money subsidizing electric car charging stations and subsidizing Chinese made solar panels. So attack our outlook all you want, I won’t support our present federal government’s policies!

Hamloc, I have a neighbor who cattle are out all the time. Some blame the fences, but they are not that bad. The real problem is he continually overgrazes and has too many cattle for the area. So what is the fix for his cattle on the highway? Better fences, fewer cattle, rotational grazing. My point is the problem will continue until the real issue is addessed which is lack of pasture. I agree we need to look at more adaptable crops that can handle more weather extremes and variability, including not only heat, but also late spring frosts which could be a result of increased weather variability. But at the same time, unless we address the real problem, which is the the cause of climate change, we will continue to see problems increase. Just because we get better crops does not solve the problems which are causing climate change.

My biggest fear is that if we continue to pretend climate change is not happening, or show what modern agriculture is doing to sequester carbon through zero till, agriculture will continue to be seen as a root cause and it will cost us. And I really believe it will lead to disasterous experiments to try and cool the earth. Then we can kiss agriculture in Canada goodbye.