My thoughts go to Kirsty's family, her friends, and her colleagues. I wish I could get hold of the photos her photographer took at the last event we attended together in our official capacities. We were both so excited to see each other. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

🧪 Jing [ agriculture.canada.ca ] et al, 2026: Growth and yield of forage alfalfa under changing climate in 🍁 TLDR? Increased 🌡️ extends growing season and enables additional harvests. Where drier, rainfed yield gains are smaller due to 🌧️ deficits. 🔗 acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

🧪 Wallach et al [+ agriculture.canada.ca 🍁], 2025: Evaluating the AgMIP calibration protocol for crop models TLDR? Comprehensive, generic calibration protocols based on standard statistical parameter estimation in regression models are tested. 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🧪 Wallach et al [+ agriculture.canada.ca 🍁], 2025: Why is there so much variability in crop multi-model studies? TLDR? Parameter uncertainty is double that of structure uncertainty. Crop models require same attention to parameters as structure. 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🧪 Qian [agriculture.canada.ca 🍁] et al, 2025: Observed Changes in Canada’s Snowfall as Inferred from Precipitation and Daily Mean Temperatures TLDR? Proxy snowfall estimates from temperature/precip data show long‑term ⬇️ in southern Canada and ⬆️ in the north. 🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

🆕 RFP RADARSAT Plus Next Generation Ground Segment Concept study 🧪🛰️📡 Canada is soliciting offers to provide services for the development of concept studies related to the ground segment of its next generation synthetic aperture radar satellite system. canadabuys.canada.ca/en/tender-op...

🍁 The agriculture.canada.ca Canadian Drought Outlook predicts whether Canadian drought will emerge, stay the same or improve. It is issued on the first Thursday of each month. 🧪 ➡️ Current drought conditions: 🔗 tinyurl.com/NAIS-Current ➡️ Last 2025 Drought Outlook: 🔗 tinyurl.com/NAIS-CDO

I first met Kirsty when we studied at the U of Edinburgh. When I came to study at the U of Toronto, I lived with her family for 2 weeks while I sorted out housing. They were so good to me, and had me frequently for dinner and holidays. A wonderful person who’ll be missed. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

DYK that Canada 🍁 launched its first satellite 🛰️ , Alouette I, in 1962, making it the third country (after the USSR and USA) to design, build and launch its own satellite into orbit. We’ve been doing this for a while.

How Canada’s 🍁 farmers are producing record crops despite droughts and floods - Ed White, @reuters.com 🧪 "Adaptation practices, which tend to be costly and require cutting edge technology, have enabled many farmers to ride out a drought that began in 2020" www.canadiancattlemen.ca/daily/how-ca...

Surface conditions for eight growing seasons in EASTERN Canada using MODIS-Terra NDVI anomalies (March to October, 2018 to 2025). 🧪 💽 Weekly NDVI & NDVI Anomalies data available 2000 to 2025 from agriculture.canada.ca ⤵️ 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AAFC-NDVI 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AAFC-NDANOM

Surface conditions for eight growing seasons in WESTERN Canada using MODIS-Terra NDVI anomalies (March to October, 2018 to 2025). 🧪 💽 Weekly NDVI & NDVI Anomalies data available 2000 to 2025 from agriculture.canada.ca ⤵️ 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AAFC-NDVI 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AAFC-NDANOM

🆕 What is new for esa.int in satellites for 2026? 🛰️ GALILEO and CELESTE for PNT, SMILE for space weather, FLEX for global plant health, SENTINEL-3C for ocean, land and ice monitoring, and the extension of EO services to strengthen security and crisis response. 🧪 Exciting times! See video below ⤵️

🆕 Welcome to the DiskSat! 🛰️🧪 CubeSats constraints include the ratio between their surface areas and their volumes, which leaves them underpowered. An alternative with a higher surface-area to volume ratio is the DiskSat. [via economist.com] Full story: tinyurl.com/47ctsen9

🆕 Canada.ca published its top 10 Canadian weather stories of 2025. Drought dominates.... "Drought... played a major role in this year's wildfire season... [and] brought major impacts to agriculture, lowered water levels, and strained water supplies in many regions." 🔗 www.canada.ca/en/environme...

A reminder that science is patriotic. Eight Ways The National Center For Atmospheric Research Helps You 🧪 www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...

🍁 agriculture.canada.ca is responsible for the Canadian Drought Monitor (CDM), a tool that maps the extent and severity of drought across the country. The CDM supports policymakers, planners, and farmers by providing publicly accessible maps and raw data for technical analysis. ow.ly/ClLg50XMt21

“Earth’s orbit is now so crowded with spacecraft and debris that a catastrophic satellite collision could occur in just 2.8 days if avoidance systems fail, which could disrupt GPS and global communications, according to a new study”. Via accuweather.com www.accuweather.com/en/space-new...

🆕 Food will be more affordable — if we double funds for agriculture research now [ via Nature.com 🧪] A global drop in public and private investment in agricultural science in the past four decades is partly to blame for high food prices, an analysis reveals. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🧪 Qian [ agriculture.canada.ca 🍁] et al, 2024: Warmer future climate in Canada: implications for winter survival of perennial forage crops TLDR? Risk from low temps without snow protection may decrease, BUT increased winter thaws / rainfall may elevate winter injury risk 🔗 doi.org/10.1139/cjps...

🍁 Learn how Canadian scientists research, develop and utilize SAR technology for mapping and environmental monitoring [1/4]. 🧪 In a series of brief lessons, you will learn about how agriculture.gc.ca uses satellite radar data in our day-to-day work. youtu.be/XZWTfrOBgKg?...

Via nrcan.gc.ca: DYK that GEO.ca is the definitive source for Canada’s 🍁 open geospatial information, giving access to >90K datasets on environment, energy, land and minerals. Alongside brand-new content, our latest release features new tools that make finding the right data faster and easier. 🧪

Via @earthobservations.org: The Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring has a new website, bringing together its rich history, global community, compelling blog posts, and stories of impact on agricultural markets and food security. Visit the new website: 🔗 geoglam.org 🧪🛰️

Lest we forget. Lt Herbert John Davidson, RNVR. Was old enough to sit the war out in his bank job, but joined up anyways. Sailed Atlantic, Pacific, Africa, and treacherous Arctic convoys. Why the Navy? It was the only service to guarantee 3 meals a day and a rum ration! Never once got seasick.

Fun to see my agriculture.Canada.ca 🍁 colleague on TV. Less fun to see that it was about the extended New Brunswick #drought. 🧪☀️🌤️🌧️ See our current national drought maps here: tinyurl.com/NAISCurrent ℹ️ Ping me for details!

🧪 Bahadur[+ agriculture.canada.ca 🍁] et al, 2020: How climatic and sociotechnical factors influence crop production: a case study of canola production TLDR? Understanding climatic and sociotechnical interactions is necessary to predict how climate change affects crop yield. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4ac35mep

🍁Canada's agricultural extent is still dry, particularly in the East. Over the past 60 days, many regions in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes have received *100mm* less than normal. ➡️ Current drought conditions via agriculture.canada.ca: 🔗 tinyurl.com/NAISCurrent

📻 RADARSAT Constellation Mission - agriculture from space In 2020 I guested on the agriculture.canada.ca First 16 Podcast to talk about the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, the type of data that flows from it, and its applications in Canadian agriculture. 🍁🛰️🧪 🔗 podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/r...

⚠️ As we always say: Garbage in, garbage out! "Data is absolutely critical... Many of the risks (with AI) are rooted in the data - low quality data, biased data, attacked data, data that has been manipulated for a certain purpose.” @thewesternproducer.bsky.social www.producer.com/news/using-a...

🆕 Latest edition of the Canada: Outlook for Principal Field Crops report is now available: ow.ly/nuCy50XhzXf 🍁 For other accurate, relevant, and timely Canadian market information, visit our market information service webpage: ow.ly/C9Rz50XhzXc Source: agriculture.canada.ca

🛰️ Agriculture from a new stellar vantage point From 2019, but still relevant! "Satellites cover way more ground at a much faster pace than humans, drones or aircraft. While satellites provide imagery, it is the scientists on the ground who turn it into something useful." 🧪 🔗 tinyurl.com/55wcwt8a

🍁 Aimeriez-vous en savoir plus à propos de l’effet des tendances météorologiques actuelles sur l’agriculture canadienne? Vous pouvez maintenant consulter le dernier Rapport national sur les risques agroclimatiques ow.ly/lwNV50WX51U Via agriculture.canada.ca

🍁 🧪 The latest agriculture.canada.ca National Agroclimate Risk Report for October is now available. See how the weather is affecting Canadian agriculture: 🔗 agriculture.canada.ca/en/agricultu...

🍁 A reminder to my fellow Canadians: Science advances our progress, innovation, and security, strengthening our future. And in uncertain times, investing in *Canadian* science is increasingly critical for building self-reliance, reducing dependencies on others, and securing national interests. 🧪

⚠️ 🛰️ An assessment of the Landsat Next descoped mission architecture proposed to meet US budget cuts concludes that the mission: ❌ May provide lower quality data than current Landsats ❌ Will not meet future user needs Decisions pending... Read full paper ⤵️ 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🧪

🍁 DYK that the Canadian Forest Service at nrcan.gc.ca tracks Canadian wild fires via the Canadian Wildfire Information System, CWFIS? cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/interactive-...

🆕🍁 #JOB ALERT: Associate Director at agriculture.canada.ca 🧪 🌐 Kentville, NS. 💲 $128,830 to $163,780 📆 Closing date: 24 October 🆔 25-AGR-ATL-EA-STB-62393 🫵 Persons residing in Canada, and Canadian citizens and Permanent residents abroad. 🔗 emploisfp-psjobs.cfp-psc.gc.ca/psrs-srfp/ap...

🤝 Canada and Mexico strengthen agri-food cooperation under the 2025–2028 Action Plan. 🇨🇦🇲🇽 “Officials emphasized the importance of science and technology collaboration and sharing of expertise.” 🧪 www.canada.ca/en/agricultu...

🎂 GOES at 50, still watching Canada’s weather!!! 🍁 “The current family of satellites, GOES 16-19, is so advanced that each satellite can snap a high-resolution view of the entire hemisphere every 15 minutes.” 🛰️🧪 Via @theweathernetwork.bsky.social www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/scie...

🍁 Le saviez-vous qu' agriculture.canada.ca offre des produits de données satellitaires à l’échelle nationale GRATUITS À TOUS via open.canada.ca? 🧪 Pourcentage de saturation en eau de la surface du sol 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AACF-PSSM Inventaire annuel des cultures (IAC) 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AACF-ACI [1/2] ⤵️

🍁 DYK agriculture.canada.ca provides *FREE* and *OPEN* national-scale satellite-derived data products via open.canada.ca? 🧪 Percent Saturated Soil Moisture 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AAFC-PSSM Annual Space-Based Crop Inventory 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AAFC-ACI ACI Ground Truth Data 🛰️ tinyurl.com/AAFC-ACIGround [1/2] ⤵️

🍁 The agriculture.canada.ca Canadian Drought Outlook predicts whether Canadian drought will emerge, stay the same or improve. It is issued on the first Thursday of each month. 🧪 ➡️ Current drought conditions: 🔗 tinyurl.com/NAIS-Current ➡️ Drought Outlook for October 2025: 🔗 tinyurl.com/NAIS-CDO

From the latest Canadian Drought Monitor from agriculture.Canada.ca: “Parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are experiencing exceptional drought, the most extreme category on the national scale. The last time similar conditions were observed was in the 1960s.” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

I had a giggle at some of those suggestions. ➡️ It is a (trihedral) CORNER REFLECTOR, made of three plates forming a corner. It is used for calibrating SAR satellite systems (in our case, RADARSAT). Its design provides a strong, predictable reflection that is not sensitive to its orientation. 🛰️📡🧪

If you’re at the Ottawa Central Experimental Farm, you may see this. What is it? Wrong answers only. Agriculture.canada.ca 🧪🛰️ 📡

👍 “From coast to coast, farmers, producers and industry rely on a robust support system to ensure their produce is safe, sustainable and competitive. A crucial pillar of that system is Agriculture.Canada.ca and the dedicated public servants who work every day to support Canadian agriculture”. 🧪🍁

If Skylab* isn’t your favorite space mission then we can’t be friends. * Will also accept Apollo 8.

🆕 Emerging pest management science from our agriculture.gc.ca centre in Lethbridge, Alberta.