Her name was drawn from all the completed entries to win a new iPad!! We will be in touch with Tasha today to ensure that her iPad is on its way!!

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) has formed a strategic partnership with the Glacier Media Agricultural Information Group, a division of Glacier Media Inc. and Weather INnovations Consulting (WIN) for the enhancement and growth of the myRM.ca online network. The partnership will add targeted agricultural and local community news content and a wide range of custom features to myRM network websites.

“Thousands of agricultural producers and rural visitors in Saskatchewan are already using the network for the latest local weather, municipal information and agricultural updates,” said Norm Hall, APAS president. “This partnership will add exciting and useful features and services for the farmers and ranchers and all of the families living in APAS member RMs.”

The myRM network has seen tremendous traffic growth over its first year of operation. The network was launched in 2012 by APAS in partnership with WeatherFarm and EarthNetworks as a premium service to all APAS Member Rural Municipalities. myRM websites offer local residents and visitors customized streaming local weather conditions and seven-day forecasts, agricultural information, local and municipal news, community events and emergency notices. Since its launch, over 75 APAS Member Rural Municipalities have myRM websites that have drawn over 23,000 visitors, 79,839 visits and more than 178,000 total page views.

READ MORE…. or  Download the entire Media Release as a PDF file.

A coalition of farm organizations and municipalities interested in operating the nursery met with a federal official last week, who told them the legal process for asset divestiture is only now underway.
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Read More at the  Western Producer

“Minister Ritz confirmed that the Tree Nursery will be fully operational to the end of 2013 including harvest and distribution in 2013 and plantings to ensure supply for 2014 and 2015,” APAS President Hall said.  “These assurances are all important as the Tree Nursery must be maintained as a viable business if it is to be successfully transitioned from the federal government.”

The Coalition appreciates the clarifications and is optimistic about working with Minister Ritz and AAFC to implement a plan that will allow this important service to continue.

Learn More…

These aren’t your typical tourists, now. They’re a clutch of wheat specialists on a wheat quality tour, assembled each year at around this time by the Wheat Quality Council, a South Dakota-based organization devoted to improving U.S. wheat.

The council bills its tours as giving participants “first-hand experience and understanding of the quality of this year’s wheat crop even before it is harvested. Any person who is interested in attending will gain great insight and network with specialists in the wheat quality field.”

Learn More… at WeatherFarm Weekly

Read the entire APAS in ACTION for April 2013

Not so in the U.S., where weather has been playing an active role in influencing farmer activities and future markets.

Rain across the U.S. Midwest has reduced or removed drought concerns. Barge traffic on the Mississippi went from too dry to operate, to too flooded to operate, in a short month. Rains have provided a reprieve for some areas of the southern Plains, although repeated freezes and ongoing below-normal temperatures have stressed the winter wheat crop in the region.

Of course agricultural markets have reacted to this news. Values for soybeans and corn have softened. The spread between SRW and HRW has widened. Forecasted acreage and yields are being revised, and given the frequency, it’s hard not to think they are influenced by each passing shower.

WeatherFarm is thought by some farmers to be a tool for their farm or region alone, which could not be further from the truth. Read More….

A coalition of Western Canadian organizations met on April 22, 2013 and announced an action plan to ensure the ongoing operation of the Indian Tree Nursery. It is ironic that such action was necessary on April 22 – Earth Day – an international day dedicated to education and promotion of environmental sustainability.

Agricultural groups pursue continued operation of the Shelterbelt Program and Tree Nursery.

In the spring of 2012, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced its decision to discontinue the Prairie Shelterbelt Program and dispose of the Indian Head Tree Nursery.  Over the fall of 2012 and winter of 2013, citizens from across Western Canada expressed a strong desire for this service to continue.  The groups involved recognize the ground swell of public support for continuation of the tree nursery program demonstrated by over 10,000 signatures on petitions and countless letters from individuals, organizations, and municipalities.   In response to displeasure voiced with this decision, Minister Ritz assured that the nursery would be fully operated through 2013 to facilitate its transfer to a new operating model. Learn more …

Download the Media Release (PDF)

Download the Background Document on the Action Committee (PDF)

Download the Background Document on the Shelter Belt Program (PDF)

Environment Canada’s snow water equivalent map shows the estimated amount of water in the snowpack on the Prairies on April 15.

Farmers in the red and orange zone are allowed to feel frustrated when they look out the window and see much more snow than that map would suggest. It is a result of the map showing how much water is contained, not how deep the snow is.

With temperatures remaining well below normal since the last round of snow, the white stuff continues to stick around. If we had been having temperatures closer to normal, then the snow should have melted much faster — or would have fallen as rain in the first place…

Read the rest of the April 18 Edition of WeatherFarmWeekly