Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The Prairie Soil Zones file shows the general distribution of major soil zones across the Prairie region of Canada. Soil zones (based on the Canadian System of Soil Classification) are named based on the dominant soil classification of the soils in each zone. Data extent is limited to the...

The Canada Land Inventory (CLI), 1:000,000, Land Capability for Agriculture dataset illustrates the varying potential of a specific area for agricultural production. Classes of land capability for agriculture are based on mineral soils grouped according to their potential and limitations for...

Accumulated Precipitation represents the amount of total precipitation in mm (solid and/or liquid) which has been recorded over a given period of time. Products are produced for the following timeframes: Agricultural Year, Growing Season, Winter Season, as well as rolling products for 7, 14,...

Mean Temperature Difference From Normal values are computed by subtracting the normal monthly average temperature from the average monthly temperature of the month. The average monthly temperature is computed by obtaining the mean value of average daily temperatures for a month. If the month was...

Growing degree days (GDDs) are used to estimate the growth and development of plants and insects during the growing season. Growing Degree Day are computed by subtracting a base value temperature from the mean daily temperature and are assigned a value of zero if negative. Base temperatures are a...

The term "Palmer Drought Index" has been used collectively to represent multiple indices. This index is simply a water balance model which analyzes precipitation and temperature, and used as a tool to measure meteorological and hydrological drought across space and time. All versions of the...

Crop Heat Units (CHU) are calculated on a daily basis, using the maximum and minimum temperatures in order to account for a crop’s negative response to higher temperatures. The formula used to calculate the CHU value for a day is: (1.8 × (Minimum Temperature − 4.4) + 3.33 × (Maximum...

This product contains the Canada Land Inventory (CLI) - Multiple scales of Land Capability / Limitation for Agriculture.

The Canada Land Inventory (CLI), 1:250,000, Land Capability for Agriculture dataset illustrates the varying potential of a specific area for agricultural production. Classes of land capability for agriculture are based on mineral soils grouped according to their potential and limitations for...

The Canada Land Inventory (CLI), 1 100,000, Land Capability and Limitation for Agriculture dataset illustrates the varying potential of a specific area for agricultural production. Classes of land capability for agriculture are based on mineral soils grouped according to their potential and...

The Canada Land Inventory (CLI), 1:000,000, Land Limitation for Agriculture dataset illustrates the varying potential of a specific area for agricultural production. Classes of land capability for agriculture are based on mineral soils grouped according to their potential and limitations for...

This dataset is no longer maintained by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and should be considered as an archived product. For current estimates of the agricultural extent in Canada please refer to the Agricultural Ecumeme produced by Statistics Canada....

Percent of normal soil moisture is the modelled amount of plant available water (mm) in the root zone of the soil, divided by the average amount that has historically been available on that day. This value is intended to provide users with a representation of conditions above or below normal as a...

Difference from normal soil moisture is the modelled amount of plant available water (mm) in the root zone of the soil, minus the average amount that has historically been available on that day. This value is intended to provide users with a representation of conditions above or below normal and...

Total soil moisture is the modelled amount of plant available water (mm) in the root zone of the soil. The value given is the amount calculated to be present on the modeled day of the product. Values are computed using the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB)

The Blended Index (BI) is a model which employs multiple potential indicators of drought and excess moisture, such as the Palmer drought index, rolling precipitation amounts and soil moisture, and combines them into a weighted, normalized value between 0 and 100. The inputs and weights used in...

The term "Palmer Drought Index" has been used collectively to represent multiple indices. This index is simply a water balance model which analyzes precipitation and temperature, and used as a tool to measure meteorological and hydrological drought across space and time. All versions of the...

The Moisture Anomaly Index (Palmer-Z) is an estimate of the moisture difference from normal (a 30-year mean). It attempts to express conditions for the current month regardless of what may have occurred before the month in question.

Percent of Average Precipitation represents the accumulation of precipitation for a location, divided by the long term average value. The long term average value is defined as the average amount over the 1981 – 2010 period. Products are produced for the following timeframes: Agricultural Year,...

The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) has been recognized as the most accessible index for quantifying and reporting meteorological drought. On short timescales, the SPI is closely related to soil moisture, while at longer timescales, the SPI can be related to groundwater and reservoir...