C-CIARN Agriculture

Archived Update — April,2004

Greetings from C-CIARN Agriculture

The report from our February 25/04 meeting in Gatineau is now available from our website. Thanks once again to C-CIARN Agriculture members for their participation.
Climate Change and Agriculture- A Producer's Perspective on Policy and Programs

Several of the points raised in our report confirm those summarized in Climate Change Symposium sponsored by the New England Governers, in conjunction with the Eastern Canadian Premiers. The following focus and priorities for agriculture were noted:

Identify invasive pest and noxious weed threats and develop strategies for early detection and intervention.
Help educate farmers and producers about global warming by working through local Cooperative Extension Services, providing material for written case studies on farming success stories, and undertaking on-site demonstrations of best cultivation practices.
Improve nutrient management strategies? for example, through better soil conservation and reduced fertilizer input.
Create incentives for improved water storage and conservation, and strategies for regional watershed management, especially in order to reduce the threat of future droughts.
Work with crop insurers to improve risk management strategies
Increase or continue research on options for more adaptive crop types.

Upcoming Events

26th Conference on Agrilculture and Forest Meteorology.
Vancouver BC, August 23-27,2004

News Items

In quest for drought tolerant varieties, CIMMYT sows first transgenic wheat fields in Mexico
CIMMYT via Food Security and Ag-Biotech News | March 22, 2004

CIMMYT took a modest but historic step in the development of drought tolerant wheat on 12 March 2004, when a small trial plot was sown to genetically modified (transgenic) wheat in a screenhouse at the Center’s headquarters in Texcoco, Mexico. This is the first time that transgenic wheat has been planted under field-like conditions in Mexico, and rigorous biosafety procedures are being followed.

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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