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Greetings from C-CIARN Agriculture, In southern Ontario, the summer weather appears to be staying with us longer than usual as temperatures soared to 34 degrees for the opening day (Sept. 10) of the Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock Ontario. Our presence at the Show was timely given the extreme temperatures. We surveyed close to one hundred people from the agri-food sector (mostly producers) and learned a great deal about their concerns related to climate related risks and opportunities. The extended drought and heat are especially challenging for crop yield, pasture quality, and livestock stress. A full report on the findings from our survey will soon be available on our web site. Moving from southern Ontario to the South Saskatchewan River Basin, a call for proposals for research about water issues in that Basin has recently been announced. Agriculture is identified as one of the featured sub-topics. Please check the information here for full details. Challenging conditions on the prairies are reflected in a recent Statistics Canada Report on this year’s grain stocks, July 31, 2002: Total stocks of cereals, oilseeds and special crops on farms were down sharply from 2001 and were well below the 10-year average. The low stocks were a direct result of the poor production in 2001 that also reduced exports and decreased domestic usage. For 2002, the tight stock situation coupled with another disastrous crop will result in one of the most difficult years for the agriculture community in western Canada. Check the website for the statistics regarding specific crops. The C-CIARN Agriculture web site offers links to web sites with crop and climate related data sources. For instance, the United States Department of Agriculture has made Crop Explorer available. Visitors to the site can check out climate conditions and production estimates for different world regions, including most of Canada. Other links on our web site can take you to sites with climate change and agricultural adaptation information. Check out our connections to: Government Organizations Canadian Non-Governmental Organizations Research Institutes Networks and Newsletters Reports and Factsheets Other Links of Interest We hope the fall season is good for all of you. Please get back to us with your comments and questions—Don’t forget to join the listserv— All for now, Ellen Wall Co-ordinator, C-CIARN-Agriculture Blackwood Hall (Room 202) University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 |
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