Winnipeg, Manitoba
August 16, 2007
An extensive network of hundreds
of weather-monitoring stations is about to spring up across
Western Canada.
Farmers, grain companies, schools, businesses and government
agencies will work together across the Prairies to build a
weather network linked through the Internet, providing
invaluable up-to-the-minute, local weather information. The new
weather network was launched today by
WeatherBug®, the world’s
leading provider of local weather information, in partnership
with the Canadian Wheat Board
(CWB) and Pioneer Grain,
a subsidiary of James Richardson International (JRI).
The project was conceived and initiated by the CWB’s weather and
crop surveillance department as a benefit to western Canadian
farmers. Enabled by WeatherBug’s proprietary networking
technology and operational capabilities, the network in Canada
will deliver accurate weather information for Prairie farmers,
professional users and consumers.
“Access to weather information has major financial benefits for
farmers, whether they’re spraying valuable chemicals, predicting
yields or pinpointing a farm management problem,” CWB President
and CEO Greg Arason said. “This network will also improve
information used by CWB analysts to market farmers’ grain for
maximum return.”
Pioneer Grain will install weather stations at its ag business
centers all across Western Canada. “By sharing data from the
weather stations, we will be better positioned to help producers
with important crop management decisions” said JRI President
Curt Vossen. “Once the network is installed, producers will be
able to access accurate local weather information through our
Web site at
www.pioneergrain.com. This initiative demonstrates our
ongoing commitment to Canadian agriculture.”
Within the next three years, WeatherBug will work with the CWB,
Pioneer Grain and other partners to connect more than 600
weather stations on farms, schools and businesses across Western
Canada. Parkland Agri Services, another significant project
partner, will set up 20 stations at its Alberta locations.
The network is expected to grow to include more than 1,000
weather stations all across all Canada, delivering timely,
highly detailed, accurate weather information and severe weather
alerts to millions of people.
WeatherBug President and CEO Bob Marshall said this launch is
the first step in building a national network so that farmers,
schools, emergency managers, media outlets and other businesses
can benefit from access to WeatherBug’s networking technology,
which has been proven to yield breakthrough benefits for
business operations and help safeguard property and lives. “We
have the technology to revolutionize the way weather information
is gathered and shared in Canada,” Marshall said. “Through
ongoing strategic partnerships, such as that announced today, we
can add the power of WeatherBug to publicly available weather
data and enhance delivery of weather information to Canadians at
home, work and on the go.”
Arason said the weather expertise and Prairie-wide scope of the
CWB has enabled the organization to play a leading role. Vossen
said JRI’s expanded presence across the West allows it to play a
valuable role in building this new network to serve farmers. |
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