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16 The Manitoba Co-operator | July 12, 2012 WEATHER VANE WHEN THE NIGHT GOES TO BED WITH A FEVER, IT WILL AWAKE WITH A WET HEAD. Riding the edge of a heat wave Issued: Monday, July 9, 2012 · Covering: July 11 – July <strong>17</strong>, 2012 Daniel Bezte Co-operator contributor Su m m e r c o n t i n u e s t o boom along with plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures. This issue’s forecast period looks as if it will be dominated by a building ridge of high pressure bringing more sun than clouds, along with fairly warm to what might be considered hot temperatures. The building ridge of high pressure during the first half of this forecast period will be centred to our west. This will place us on the northeastern edge of the ridge. While this will bring us more sun than clouds, and warm temperatures, it will also place us in what is known as the “ring of fire” around the ridge. This ring of fire is the area where small areas of low pressure and instability drift and can cause thunderstorms to develop. What makes it difficult from a forecaster’s point of view is that it is very difficult to anticipate the timing or strength of these features. With that said, the first part of this forecast period shows Wednesday and By Daniel Bezte CO-OPERATOR CONTRIBUTOR When trying to come u p w i t h i d e a s t o write, it always seems a good idea to create a series of articles, such as the one I have been working on about severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. For those of you who routinely follow these articles you are expecting an article about how tornadoes are formed. As much as I’d like to share that article with you this week, sometimes Mother Nature leads with a headline I just can’t refuse. Thunderstorms and tornadoes will have to take a sideline for this issue and instead we’ll take a look at the historic heat wave that, thank goodness, has so far missed us, but has ravaged much of the central and eastern U.S. So far this summer across the Canadian Prairies has been warm and fairly dry and in some places people have been talking about how warm it has been. Fortunately for us, we have missed out on the big heat that has been occurring south of the border. After seeing some of the images and looking at all of the records broken, I am glad we’ve been able to dodge this record setting heat wave — at least so far. Thursday relatively dry, with high temperatures in the low 30s. On Friday, the models show an area of low pressure riding the top of the ridge and this could bring a good chance of thunderstorms late in the day. Over the weekend the ridge of high pressure looks to weaken just a little bit. This will allow temperatures to cool down a little bit. Along with the slightly cooler temperatures there will also be a good chance for more thunderstorms on late Sunday and on Monday, as an area of low pressure passes by to the north. Next week looks as though it will start off on the comfortable side, with highs in the mid- 20s, but the weather models show the ridge of high pressure rebuilding during the week, which will mean temperatures again move back into the low 30s for highs. Usual temperature range for this period: Highs, 22 to 31 C; lows, 10 to 18 C. Daniel Bezte is a teacher by profession with a BA (Hon.) in geography, specializing in climatology, from the U of W. He operates a computerized weather station near Birds Hill Park. Contact him with your questions and comments at daniel@bezte.ca. Over much of the central and eastern U.S., what’s becoming an unprecedented heat wave has been occurring. What makes this heat wave fairly disturbing is the fact that most of it occurred in June. To put things into perspective, the big recordsetting heat wave everyone uses for comparisons occurred back in 1936. That heat wave started during June in the U.S., then spread northward during July, setting all-time heat records that until this year have yet to be touched. But touched they have been! According to the Weather Underground, in June 2012, 11 per cent of the 777 U.S. weather stations with a period of record of a century or more broke or tied their all-time heat records for the month of June. Only 1936 (when 13 per cent of June records were broken or tied) and 1988 (12.5 per cent) had greater numbers of all-time monthly June records broken. So June 1936 had more records broken, but over a much shorter period of time; also, the records being broken this year were the ones set in either 1936 or 1988. Not only have there been a lot of all-time June heat records set this year, but a number of these records also broke the alltime yearly heat record — again, something almost unheard of during the month of June! Hot WEATHER MAP - WESTERN CANADA days and record-breaking hot days are not unexpected or something to get excited about, since they happen once or twice every year. What has been unusual about this heat wave is the consecutive number of days places are reporting temperatures over 100 F (38 C). The city of St. Louis hit these triple-digit values for 13 days in a row starting June 27. This streak is now the third longest in their history. Pueblo Colorado reached 101 F (38.3 C) on July 4, which brought the number of consecutive days with high temperatures of 100 F or higher to a record-high 13 days as well. Finally, Chicago saw three consecutive days with a temperature of 100 F or hotter, which tied the record for most consecutive 100 F days, set back in 1936. I have included a couple of pictures of from the Colby, Kansas region. If they don’t remind you of the 1930s Dust Bowl, I don’t know what will. I guess the big question on most people’s minds is whether this heat will build northward or not. So far, the weather models show some fairly significant heat building over the Canadian Prairies over the next couple of weeks, but other than a typical summer heat wave, it is not currently looking like we’ll be pushing all-time record highs. Let’s hope this forecast holds true! Instant info. With the Manitoba Co-operator mobile app you can stay up to date on all things ag. Download the free app at agreader.ca/mbc For this issue I’ve decided to break way from the traditional precipitation-based map and instead show you a graph of the mean temperatures over the last year. This graph shows the daily average mean temperature for Winnipeg compared to the long-term average. Looking at the centre graph, which is a 31-day running mean, you can really see just how warm it has been over the last year, as readings in the red show above-average temperatures. We have now seen over a year with aboveaverage temperatures, with only a short period in early June having a consistent period of below-average temperatures. Just imagine what it would be like if we saw temperatures during the summer as much above average as we saw over the winter! All-time record heat over the U.S. Records are being broken for the most consecutive days with highs of 100 F and up Some views of current dust conditions at Colby in northwestern Kansas, about 360 km east of Denver, are reminiscent of the 1930s Dust Bowl. PHOTO: SUPPLIED PHOTOS
The Manitoba Co-operator | July 12, 2012 <strong>17</strong> CROPS HUSBANDRY — THE SCIENCE, SKILL OR ART OF FARMING Perennial potential Marginal lands may be able to produce grain with advent of perennial crops, but more work needs to be done By Shannon VanRaes CO-OPERATOR STAFF Don’t start searching the seed catalogue for perennial wheat just yet, but farmers may one day have the option of planting perennial grains, a University of Manitoba plant breeder says. “Perennials have crept in a little bit from the fringe,” says Doug Cattani, who oversees one of the few breeding programs dedicated to the concept. “Not a lot, but there are more people looking at perennials as a step towards sustainability.” Cattani began researching perennial grains in 2010, and this summer has three field trials underway, looking at intermediate wheatgrass, perennial cereal rye and perennial wheat. “We have a large trial of intermediate wheatgrass, which is a perennial grass historically grown as forage in Manitoba,” he said. The goal with this species is increase seed weight and threshibility, eventually resulting in a seed that looks more like wheat, and less like barley, he said. Perennial cereal rye was first developed in Germany, before being released by Agriculture and Agrifood Canada in Lethbridge. It is now being studied on test plots in Carman. Early results have Cattani doubting its viability as a grain crop. “It’s probably better adapted to forage,” he noted. The University of Manitoba is the only Canadian institution with research focused on developing perennial grains. But other institutions and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada have been helpful providing genetic materials for the program, he said. “A lot of the annuals tend to be better able to be selfed (when a plant self pollinates to produce viable seed), and therefore you can make improvements quicker,” said Cattani. “The perennials tend to be obligate outcrossing species that are very difficult to self.” It will be at least another two decades before perennial grains are available, Cattani said. “When we do release it to producers, we want something they can plant with confidence knowing it will be a perennial grain crop, and not one year grain and five years hay,” he said. Pioneer® brand Soybean varieties 2425 Heat Units For all of your soybean growing needs, call your local Pioneer Hi-Bred sales representative. They are ready to help you select the best seed products for each of your acres. University of Manitoba professor Doug Cattani is investigating the possibility of perennial grains and oilseeds, including sunflowers. PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES One crop that has people looking to the future is the possibility of perennial wheat. Cattani has crossed winter wheat with intermediate wheat grass in an attempt to find perennial offspring. Similar trials have been conducted in Australia, resulting in three genetic lines with some perennially. “It can be a hit-or-miss process,” he said. Cattani remains confident perennials could play a role in meeting the world’s growing demand for food — just not in the way some people might expect. Although perennials won’t likely produce the bumper crop years seen with annuals, they won’t fall victim to bust years either, said Cattani. “It’s felt that perenniality and their adaptations will give you a really consistent yield across the years,” he said. Established perennials also require fewer inputs, resulting in lower costs for farmers. “I don’t foresee perennial crops covering every acre ever, but what I do envision is that marginal lands that we will be forced to produce food on in the future will be a good fit for perennials,” Cattani said. “And following harvest, animals will be able to graze there.” Because perennials are present in the environment year round, they also have the ability to stymie flooding, as plants absorb and respire water back into the air, while root systems prevent soil erosion. “I think we’re seeing it more and more accepted in scientific circles that perennials help keep our soils healthy,” Cattani added. Alden Braul agrees that perennial grains have potential, but not necessarily in our lifetimes. But the capacity development and food security co-ordinator with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank said he would like to see more work done on perennials, as well as the role they might play in polyculture. “When you look at the people the Foodgrains Bank works with, many are small holdings farmers, often with marginal land, so in some ways those people would have the most to gain from perennials,” said Braul. With the idea of sustainability in mind, he added perennials would be a natural fit with the Foodgrains Bank’s goals. In addition to working on the possibility of perennial grains, Cattani is also investigating perennial oilseeds. Research into perennial sunflowers is underway at sites in Winnipeg and Carman. “It’s a species from Manitoba and found across the province,” he said. “It’s very well adapted to our climate and our growing season.” Down the road perennial flax may also be an option as demand for biomass grows. But with annuals having had a Very early variety with strong field emergence. Contains the Rps1c gene for multi-race Phytophthora resistance. 2450 Heat Units 10,000-year head start, there is some catching up to do. Why agricultural ancestors chose annual plants over perennials by our agriculture ancestors is still up for debate. “It depends on who you listen to,” said Cattani. “But the main reason people give is that when agriculture started the likelihood of being in the same place next year was low, people were somewhat nomadic.” However, that doesn’t mean perennials can’t catch up. Cattani pointed to the rapid development of canola as an example of modern variety development, and added disease resistance from perennials has already been used in annual varieties. shannon.vanraes@fbcpublishing.com Very early soybean variety with good agronomics. Built-in Phytophthora resistance (Rps1c). “I don’t foresee perennial crops covering every acre ever, but what I do envision is that marginal lands that we will be forced to produce food on in the future will be a good fi t for perennials.” DOUG CATTANI www.pioneer.com/yield The proving ground. TM PR2155 MC_900Y61_CPS.indd 1 15/11/11 10:55 AM ® Roundup Ready is a registered trademark used under license from Monsanto Company. All purchases are subject to the terms of labelling and purchase documents. ®, TM, SM Trademarks and service marks licensed to Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited. © 2011 PHL.
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