Canadian ag groups are weighing in on the tariff crisis.

Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threat, slapping Canada with a 25% tariff on just about all goods effective Tuesday, February 4. Canada retaliated with 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods.

With the threat of U.S. tariffs hanging over Canada like the sword of Damocles, Alberta’s commodity groups including Alberta Canola are coordinating efforts to advocate against, and prepare for, tariffs.

Roger Chevraux, Alberta Canola Region 11 director, says they’re working behind the scenes, contacting U.S. governors, senators, and representatives to emphasize the importance of the two countries' relationship regarding food.

"We a big customer of their production, and they're a big customer of our production," Chevraux noted. "Food is important. If you put a tariff on it, it's going to cost your consumers a whole lot of money and you're going to have explain to them why the cost of food is going up."

Warm and dry across the agricultural south.....then the pattern flips! For some, snow and cold is on the way. And by next weekend...yikes!

Farmers and ranchers know it's hard enough to get a good snowpack in southern Alberta. With our frequent chinooks, keepng what little snow we get on the ground is even harder. And the January thaw doesn't help. The "January thaw", or the bonspiel thaw, is a weather phenomenon that happens in mid to late January as mild Pacific air stretches across North America. It’s like nature hits the pause button on winter, bringing a brief stretch of warmer weather. Snow starts melting, ice turns to slush, and people start to wonder if spring is showing up early (spoiler: it’s not). There's still a lot of mystery as to why it happens, but it's believed to be tied to natural variations in the jet stream, which can allow mild Pacific air to cross the country from west to east. The January thaw isn't all good. It can be damaging to crops and vegetation... as it can briefly disrupt the dormant winter cycle.

Karsten Grabler from Cherhill, Alberta and Garret Rice from Carbon, Alberta have been named the 2025 recipients of the Seed Smart Scholarship, a prestigious award from the Alberta Seed Processors (ASP) recognizing academic excellence and leadership in agriculture.

Grabler, a student in the Animal Science Technology program majoring in Beef at Lakeland College in Vermilion, expressed his gratitude for the award. "I'm very fortunate and as well as glad to have won this," he said. "It will greatly benefit my further studies within this current program, as well as if I go on to further studies as well.

Warmer weather returns to Alberta and Saskatchewan!  But in Manitoba, it's a long wait.

Bitterly cold weather to start the day, with temperatures in the -30s and wind chills in the -40s east of Highway 2 and south of Edmonton. Elsewhere, morning lows will be near or in the -20s. However, this is the day of change for Alberta, as mild Pacific air begins to push in during the day. IF that warmer air remains aloft, an inversion will develop, and it will remain cold through the day, and smoggy in urban areas, particularly Calgary.

Digital technology, community, and craft beer have come together to brew a unique collaboration.

Bayer Crop Science has named Irvin and Braden Eberle of Montmartre, Saskatchewan, as the winners of its FieldBrew contest, granting them the opportunity to craft a one-of-a-kind craft beer, FieldBrew, a play on its FieldView digital agriculture platform. In partnership with Origin Brewing & Malting Co. of Strathmore, Alberta, it’s the first-of-its-kind initiative connecting farm to glass.

“It’s been a great opportunity,” says Braden. “It’s great to be involved with Origin and see how the product comes from the field directly into a beer can.”

The Eberle family farm, I W Eberle Farms Ltd., will feature prominently on FieldBrew’s label as part of the prize. The Eberles, who operate a fourth-generation grain farm growing durum wheat, canola, and lentils, have been active users of the FieldView platform for the past four years.

For more on this story go to ruralrootscanada.com.

It'll be mild until the weekend, then.....Yikes!

As mentioned in last Thursday's midweek update, La Nina has arrived.  It was officially declared on January 9th, and is expected to persist for a few weeks, maybe into April.  The expectation is for La Nina to remain weak.    Prairie weather characteristics of La Nina events include colder than average weather, with above average snowfall.  It's a weak La Nina, and no specific forecasts can be made, but for the next two or three months, it's best to be prepared for cold, sometimes snowy weather.   And, just to give you a hint of the cold air that's likely on its way, this is a map showing expected temperatures in the early morning of Monday January 20.    It's a long way out, and this is not a specific forecast, but it does show temperatures as low as -30 C as far south as the mountains of Utah and Colorado, along with southern Saskatchewan.

Over the last twenty years or so, the most common question I have received is, "What weather app do you recommend?" And, over the last twenty years or so, my answer has been none of them.

Most weather apps provide model output, computer generated forecasts unvetted by human meteorologists and many of us in the business call them crap apps.

However, for farmers and ranchers, I’ve found a few apps that will actually be quite helpful.

None of these are paid endorsements, just free suggestions.

Medicine Hat College is making strides in agricultural education, with new, innovative programs designed to meet the needs of seasoned producers and the next generation of agribusiness professionals.