|
Rivers, MB | There is definitely info out there from people more familiar with climate change and its possible affects on Western Canada that will say that we could very well benefit from a warmer climate, especially if it came with more moisture. I had a well known business leader in Canadian agriculture tell me he had been at a world climate change convention in the eastern US a few years back that had been very interested in him once they found out he was from Manitoba as it was thought that of all places in North America to benefit from a warmer climate, it was MB. Being that I'm from MB, I thought that was good!
I question as to whether wheat growing regions would expand with a few more degrees. My MB experience would say that most crop growing regions stop where they are because of physical boundaries like lakes or poor soil. My guess is that Saskatchewan is similar in many areas. AB does have, as one other poster indicated, a large area North of Edmonton known as the Peace Country that has large areas of undeveloped land. Good dirt. Poor weather. Hit or miss crops. Seems to be either boom or bust, mainly because of climate. I'm sure they would love to have a few more growing degree days. their longer hours of sunlight during June/July as they are so far north allows them to grow the crop that they do from what I'm told.
Think the biggest difference change if climate would warm up for western Canada would be the expansion of corn and bean growing areas. Bean acres have exploded in the last 10 years and corn acres have expanded as well. Varietal improvements have made most of the expansion possible. But as climate warms up, I think the typical corn growing area would greatly improve. Monsanto and Pioneer are spending millions developing varieties for Western Canada. The prairies are really just an expansion of the so-called fringe acres of the US. ND used to be a wheat state. Not so much anymore. | |
|
Canadian wheat
