The “Agricultural Major Land Practices Groups of the Canadian Prairies” dataset lays out the areas of the 5 Major Land Practices Groups of the agricultural portions of the Canadian Prairies. They are represented by vector polygons amalgamated (dissolved) from the Version 1.9 SLC polygons sharing common water resources, land use and farming practices as developed in the “Agricultural Land Practices Groups of the Canadian Prairies by SLC Polygon” of this series. The dataset is based upon selected attributes from the Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC) and the 1996 Census of Agriculture. Typical attributes including: land in pasture, land in summerfallow, crop mixture, farm size and the level of chemical and fertilizer inputs.

These products represent crop health indices derived from the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB) model using crop specific coefficients and station based precipitation and temperature measurements to simulate crop growth. The VSMB model simulates soil moisture dynamics and water stress conditions based on water availability in the soil profile and simulated evapotranspiration during the crop growing season. Crop phenological stages, which are related to crop water use, are determined by a biometeorlogical time scale model (Robertson, 1968) for cool season crops (wheat, barley etc.) and a Crop Heat Unit (Brown and Bootsma, 1993) algorithm for warm season crops (corn and soybean etc.).

The impact of climatic variability on the environment is of great importance to the agricultural sector in Canada. Monitoring the impacts on water supplies, soil degradation and agricultural production is essential to the preparedness of the region in dealing with possible drought and other agroclimate risks. Derived normal climate data represent 30-year averages (1961-1990, 1971-2000, 1981-2010, 1991-2020) of climate conditions observed at a particular location. The derived normal climate data represents 30-year averages or “normals” for precipitation, temperature, growing degree days, crop heat units, frost, and dry spells. These normal trends are key to understanding agroclimate risks in Canada. These normal can be used as a baseline to compare against current conditions, and are particularly useful for monitoring drought risk.

This data series was compiled by AAFC and Statistics Canada using a combination of agroclimate data and satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for the current growing season. The forecast is made based on a statistical model using historical yield, climate and NDVI data.

Monthly 30-year Average Maximum Temperature represents the average monthly maximum temperature calculated for a given location averaged across a 30 year period (1961-1991, 1971-2000, 1981-2010, 1991-2020). These values are calculated across Canada in 10x10 km cells.

This data series was compiled by AAFC and Statistics Canada using a combination of agroclimate data and satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for the current growing season. The forecast is made based on a statistical model using historical yield, climate and NDVI data.

Crop/Corn Heat Units (CHU) is a temperature-based index often used by farmers and agricultural researchers to estimate whether the climate is warm enough to grow corn. Daily crop heat units are calculated from minimum and maximum temperatures with separate calculations for day and night. The daytime relationship sets the minimum at 10 C for growth up to a maximum of 30 C, beyond which growth slows. These values are calculated across Canada in 10x10 km cells.

Monthly 30-year Average Minimum Temperature represents the average monthly minimum temperature calculated at a given location averaged across a 30 year period (1961-1991, 1971-2000, 1981-2010, 1991-2020). These values are calculated across Canada in 10x10 km cells.

This data set was compiled by AAFC from the historic yields of major crops as provided by Statistics Canada and provides support on estimates of crop yield and related statistics.

This data represents the dryness of the land surface based on vegetation conditions. The data is created weekly and uses weekly information on precipitation anomalies (namely the Standardized Precipitation Index or SPI) and satellite vegetation condition derived from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the MODIS Satellite. These dynamic data sets along with static data sets on land cover, soil water holding capacity, irrigation, ecozones and land surface elevation are used to model the drought severity, based on the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). The mapcubist model was trained on historical data and applied in real time to the dynamic inputs to produce drought severity ratings. The model is run at a 1km resolution and was developed by the AAFC, the United States Geological Survey and the United States Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.