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Greetings from C-CIARN Agriculture April starts off the third year of operations for C-CIARN Agriculture as a network committed to promoting research and disseminating information on issues related to climate change risk management for the agri-food sector. Interest in the topic is steadily growing-- the number of people receiving our updates (from 223 to 337 in the last 9 months) and in the number of visitors to our web site (over 30 visits a day on average) has increased substantially. Please continue to let your colleagues know about C-CIARN Agriculture. The 2003 agriculture season is underway for crop production with this observation from Statistics Canada: "After two years of difficult crop growing conditions, Canadian grain growers appear to be returning to proven planting formulas, as times remain uncertain in the agricultural grains sector. Farmers are expected to plant less oats, barley and lentils this summer, and move back into wheat, canola and flaxseed." See their full report on seeding intentions for principal field crops, March 31, 2003 Agriculture and Agri-food Canada released a report in March documenting the level of climate change awareness among Canadian producers. More than 50% agree that climate change will have impacts and mention extreme events as the most important. With few exceptions, drought seems to be the extreme event causing most concern. In Canada, a workshop is taking place in Edmonton, May 12-14, to determine the best way Canada can contribute to a North American Drought Monitor. Articles reflecting Australian responses to water management and managing climate risks for agriculture are available in a recent publication from the Australian Agribusiness Association. Australian innovations in drip irrigation have been adapted in Canada with great success according to the Canadian Farm Manager. Growers and governments have collaborated on increasing the use of extremely efficient systems in regions where moisture deficits are problematic. For instance, in 2002, tomato growers in southwestern Ontario implemented new irrigation techniques (modelled on the Australian example) and produced their second highest yield ever, even though it was one of the driest years on record. A conference designed to assess the possibilities for applying the concepts of adaptive management and adaptive capacity to the problem of research and policy in global climate change and to do so at multiple scales is planned for Ohio, October 30-31, 2003. Contact The Adaptive Research and Governance in Climate Change (ARGCC) group at the Ohio State for more information (Paul Robbins: robbins.30@osu.edu.) The C-CIARN Agriculture web site is currently undergoing some major improvements and will soon be out of circulation for approximately ten days when the final adjustments are complete and re-posted. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. All for now, Ellen Wall Co-ordinator, C-CIARN Agriculture (Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network for Agriculture) Blackwood Hall (Room 202) University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 Phone: 519 824 4120 ext 58480 Fax: 519 763 4686 www.c-ciarn.uoguelph.ca |
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