Canadian grain farmers eye improved season

After a winter dominated by exceptionally warm and dry weather across the Canadian Prairies, early-season fears that this summer would be a repeat of the last, punctuated by heat, dryness, and raging forest fires, have eased dramatically, with ample moisture and cooler weather bringing an air of optimism to the nation’s farmers. This time last year, many Prairie farmers were in the grip of a season from hell, as the El Niño weather phenomenon that brought warm and dry weather to the winter strengthened across the boreal spring and summer. With very little relief from the drought conditions through to harvest, principal field crop production in 2023-24 declined dramatically. Fast forward 12 months, and the El Niño weather pattern that warms ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, leading to warm and dry conditions over the Prairies, is dissipating. More normal seasonal conditions have returned, with low-pressure systems that cover large areas and bring lots of rain more ...