The Agroclimate Impact Reporter (AIR) is an online survey designed for the collection and reporting of weather and climate impacts on-farm operations across Canada.
Join the Network
To subscribe to the AIR email list, please send a blank email to aafc.droughtwatch-guetterlasecheresse.aac@agr.gc.ca.
The AIR survey is open during the last week of the month over the growing season (April to October) and is intended to collect weather and climate impacts on farm operations across Canada. Survey results are made into maps and published on the Drought Watch website.
Submit Impacts
Survey responses inform scientists about conditions in a particular area, but once responses are compiled into a map, scientists have a better picture of conditions across Canada. The information provided by these monthly surveys can then be used to identify developing agroclimate trends as well as visualize the extent of agroclimate impacts to the sector.
How to select my map location
The Location question lets AAFC know which region you are reporting for. Please position the push-pin over the approximate area of your farm. Approximate location is sufficient. There are several methods to do this.
- Select the round circle icon (directly below the little house icon) to allow the survey to access your location automatically.
- Type your address or nearest town into the search bar to narrow your search. Then click and drag the map until the push-pin is over the correct location.
- Manually zoom and drag the map until the push-pin is located over the correct location.
- You can also directly enter Latitude and Longitude coordinates in the boxes at the bottom of the map.
Explanation of the tool icons on the left side of the map:
- The plus and minus buttons will zoom in and out of the map.
- The house button will zoom all the way out.
- The circle crosshair icon will as for permission to automatically report your location based on your IP address.
- The box button will expand the map to full-screen.
- To close the full-screen view, click the X in the upper right-hand corner.
Please double check that the push-pin correctly reports your position before moving to the next question.
Other ways to complete the survey
By phone
Email aafc.droughtwatch-guetterlasecheresse.aac@agr.gc.ca with your contact information and NAIS will call you to complete the report survey over the phone.
By email
Download an accessible PDF version of the AIR survey of the survey and email your response to aafc.droughtwatch-guetterlasecheresse.aac@agr.gc.ca using the email button at the bottom of the form.
Using the Online Form
In order to use the online form, you will need Adobe Reader 11.0 or above
Instructions for PC users
- Right-click the PDF and select Save target as or Save as link
- Choose the location on your computer where you want to save the PDF form
- Go to the file location where you saved the PDF form
- Open the PDF form with Adobe Reader® 11 (or a more recent version)
- Fill and save your PDF form
- Submit
Instructions for Mac users
- Press the Control key (Ctrl) and click on the PDF
- Choose Save link as or Download linked file as
- Choose the location on your computer where you want to save the PDF form
- Go to the file location where you saved the PDF form
- Open the PDF form with Adobe Reader® 10 (or a more recent version)
- Fill and save your PDF form
- Submit
The information you provide is valued by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and provides input for decision makers.
To subscribe to the AIR email list, please send a blank email to aafc.droughtwatch-guetterlasecheresse.aac@agr.gc.ca.
View Impact Maps
Access hundreds of impact maps using the Agroclimate Impact Reporter Map Selector. View impact maps for Western Canada dating back to 2012 and impact maps for Eastern Canada in 2020.
- soil moisture and erosion
- crop, hay and pasture quality and staging
- feed production and availability
- water supply and quality, and much more.
Learn about AIR
What is AIR
The Agroclimate Impact Reporter (AIR) is a tool to help connect Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) with people in Canada's agricultural community. AAFC relies on its network of AIR volunteers to provide information regarding agroclimate impacts on farm operations across the country.
The AIR network provides valuable and reliable data that are mapped and used in the assessment and development of policies and programs including AgriRecovery and the Livestock Tax Deferral Provision, which can provide assistance to the industry during extreme weather and climate conditions and events.
The AIR network is an ever-growing database of agroclimate impacts, which enables better data analysis to help identify trends and anomalies.
The AIR survey is open during the last week of the month over the growing season (April to October) and is intended to collect weather and climate impacts on farm operations across Canada. Survey results are made into maps and published on the Drought Watch website the first week of every month during the growing season.
Each month, producers across Canada are invited to participate in a short online survey to inform Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) about recent agroclimate impacts to their farm. AIR offers the public, media, and decision-makers a useful tool with which to support the agricultural industry.
Extreme weather events and climatic variability can have significant effects on Canada's agricultural sector and the economy. Over the past 10 years, drought, flooding and excess moisture have resulted in large costs to the Canadian economy. In 2001-2002, the cost of drought to the Canadian economy was $5.2 billion and stood out as one of Canada's most expensive natural disasters. More recently, in 2012, Ontario livestock producers received $2.4 million from AgriRecovery for losses caused by drought and $74 million to fruit growers for loss caused by spring frosts. In 2018, Prince Edward Island (PEI) producers received more than $15.6 million in direct assistance for losses caused by weather and rain that damaged crops and delayed harvest. AIR has made a mission of monitoring the impacts of weather on water, soil and agricultural production to help impacted regions adapt, withstand and recover from climatic extremes.
Why participate in the Agroclimate Impact Reporter
- AIR helps science understand weather impacts on agricultural production
- AIR is a unique Canadian initiative that relies on volunteers across Canada to submit reports about the impacts of severe weather on agricultural production including field access, seeding and harvest delays, crop stage, and plant and livestock health.
- AIR is citizen science
- Weather impacts occurring on-the-ground cannot always be measured by hydro-meteorological stations, earth observation satellites, or computer models.
- AIR volunteer reporting can help clarify the relationship between hydro-climatic instrument weather data and the human-experienced impacts of weather events on Canadian producers.
- AIR is engaging and educational
- Learn more about agroclimate conditions across Canada by examining AIR maps;
- Receive regular updates about AIR.
Disclaimer
Users are advised that the Minister and Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada make no assurance or warranty of any kind concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability or fitness for purpose of the information. Responsibility for any and all risks associated with the interpretation and any use or application of the data rests solely with the user. Users using this data do so upon the express understanding and agreement that AAFC and its Minister, officers, servants, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any damages or losses whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, consequential, incidental, special or general, economic or otherwise, that may arise out of such use. While AAFC endeavors to provide useful and reasonably accurate data, users accept that this disclaimer means that no liability shall attach for any use or application of this data.
Contact information
For more information on Drought Watch, please contact us by email at aafc.droughtwatch-guetterlasecheresse.aac@agr.gc.ca, or by phone at:
TDD/TTY: 613-773-2600
For media enquiries, please contact Media Relations.