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.

Contained within the 5th Edition (1978 to 1995) of the National Atlas of Canada has a large that shows the extent of permafrost and abundance of ground ice; mapping units are based on physiographic regions. Point data on map give permafrost temperature and thickness for specific sites. The second, smaller, map shows the mean annual ground temperatures. Graphs show four shallow temperature profiles (to 25 metres depth), and four deep temperature profiles (to several hundred metres depth). Heginbottom, J. A., Dubreuil, M. -A. & Harker, P. (1995). Canada, permafrost. In The National Atlas of Canada (5 ed.). Natural Resources Canada, Geomatics Canada, MCR Series, 4177, Natural Resources Canada. https://doi.org/10.4095/294672

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 Mean Temperature represents the average monthly mean 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.

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.

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.

A soil survey is an inventory of soils and their spatial distribution over a landscape. Soil survey reports contain two parts. The first part is a soil map or series of maps at a particular scale with coding for each soil. Soil survey reports also include a supporting document that contains background information such as how the soil survey was conducted, and an explanation of interpretive criteria and a summary of the area occupied by various soil types. The detailed soil surveys identify more of the variation in soil types across smaller landscapes, as compared to Generalized (1:100 000, i.e. provincial overview) and Reconnaissance or General (1:125 000, or 1/2 inch to 1 mile.) soil surveys. Detailed soil survey information is much more accurate and reliable for making decisions at the farm-level. Soil surveys have been published for most of the agricultural areas, and many surrounding areas, across Canada. Data from these surveys comprise the most detailed soil inventory information in the National Soil Database (NSDB). Version 3 was created by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in the 2010's by amalgamating version 2 data. It introduced some minor refinements to the version 2 data structure to provide closer alignment with the Soil Landscapes of Canada data structure.

Growing Degree Days (GDDs) are used to estimate the growth and development of plants and insects during the growing season. Insect and plant development are very dependent on temperature and the daily accumulation of heat. The amount of heat required to move a plant or pest to the next development stage remains constant from year to year. However, the actual amount of time (days) can vary considerably from year to year because of weather conditions. Base temperatures are a point below which development does not occur for the organism in question. Base 5 temperatures are commonly used for alfalfa, canola and general plant growth. These values are calculated across Canada in 10x10 km cells.

The Nova Scotia Detailed Soil Survey dataset series at a scale of 1:50 000 consists of geo-referenced soil polygons with linkages to attribute data found in the associated Component File (CMP), Soil Names File (SNF) and Soil Layer File (SLF). Together, these Version 1 datasets describe the spatial distribution of soils and associated landscapes in Pictou County.

Growing Season Frost Free Period (-4 °C) is defined as the count of the number of days from the day after the last spring frost (-4 °C) to the day before the first fall frost (-4 °C). These values are calculated across Canada in 10x10 km cells.