Wanted: Accurate weather forecasts
As farmers commiserate about seeding delays, they quote from the latest Environment Canada forecasts and what they’ve seen and heard on The Weather Network. Increasingly, producers are also discussing what World Weather Inc. is predicting. Based out of Kansas, this private forecasting company is gaining a loyal following. For the past few years, Larry Weber of Weber Commodities has raved about Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. Now, many producers are paying the fee to subscribe to Lerner’s daily report. I’m a subscriber and I’ve been impressed. In most cases, Lerner has been days ahead of Environment Canada in predicting major precipitation events. With the last big rains, World Weather Inc. was predicting significant rainfall amounts when Environment Canada was still forecasting a probability of showers. Lerner provides a description of where the systems are tracking and what they’re likely to do. With Environment Canada, you get little of the background. Perhaps Environment Canada could be providing a similar level of service if they weren’t so starved for funding and people. I’m Kevin Hursh.