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Essex County, Ont., farmers hope for 'million-dollar rain' as region sees driest May since 1870

Farmers in Essex County, Ont. are hoping for a "million-dollar rain" as the region faces its driest month of May on record in more than 150 years. 

Peter Kimbell, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, says the area has only seen 23 millimetres of rain this month.

"April was pretty wet, but not May," he said.

"If you go back all the way back to the 1800s, 1870 had an equivalent low amount of rain, 23 millimetres."

Environment Canada forecasts show a week of hot, sunny weather for Windsor and Essex County, with temperatures hovering between 28 and 30 degrees for much of the week. There's a chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday, when temperatures are expected to rise to 31 degrees. 

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Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday



Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.