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AAFC Develops New Drought Outlook Tool

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) new Drought Outlook tool predicts drought conditions 30-days into the future.

The tool was developed by AAFC Agroclimate Specialists Trevor Hadwen, Marilee Pregitzer, Dr. Catherine Champagne, Calvin Poff, and Richard Warren.

"We've linked our current conditions, the Canadian Drought Monitor, to the Environment Canada forecast," said Hadwen. "We've tried to link the current conditions of drought to that forecast by using a machine-based learning model that helps develop drought indices into the future and predicts the classification of drought in 30 days."

The Drought Outlook:

- Is the first tool of its kind in Canada for predicting future regional drought conditions.
- Forecasts 30 days into the future based on AAFC’s current monthly Canadian Drought Monitor assessment in combination with ECCC precipitation and temperature forecasts.

Forecasts will be made available through the national Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) for the purposes of informing producers and policy developers.

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

What Happens When Pigs Adapt to High Soybean Meal Diets? - Gustavo Lima

Video: What Happens When Pigs Adapt to High Soybean Meal Diets? - Gustavo Lima



In this special rerun episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, discusses how grow-finish pigs respond to high soybean meal diets. He explains the initial drop in feed intake, changes in backfat, later adaptation, energy efficiency, amino acid utilization, and the rise in nitrogen excretion at higher inclusion levels. Listen now on all major platforms!

Click here to read the full research article: https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/...

“Once they got adapted to the diet, they can handle higher levels of inclusion of soybean meal.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University whose work focuses on swine nutrition, ingredient characterization, energy metabolism, caloric efficiency, and applied data analysis. With more than 15 years of experience in swine production across Latin America, Gustavo also brings expertise in environmental control, performance evaluation, barn ventilation, and grow-finish housing. Learn more from Gustavo Lima on The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.