AIR is a unique Canadian citizen science initiative that relies on agricultural producers, industry, regional reporters, and concerned citizen volunteers across Canada to submit reports about the on-the-ground impacts of weather and climate.
While AAFC uses a variety of tools, including data from weather stations, satellites, and computer modeling to understand agroclimate conditions, such as drought or flooding, these methods alone cannot adequately describe the effects of weather events on a wide variety of impacts including field access, seeding or harvest delays, crop stage or plant or livestock health. Instead, we must rely on citizen’s volunteer participation in AIR to provide information about on-the-ground conditions that affect agriculture.
The AIR survey asks questions about a range of impacts including surface soil moisture, field accessibility, water quality, crop stage, livestock health, and feed supply. The data is used to create a variety of monthly agricultural impact maps available on our website. The maps are used by government, universities, schools, non-profits media, and agricultural producers.
The AIR impact maps are an integral component of AAFC efforts to monitor agroclimate conditions and to assist agricultural producers in their crucial role in the agricultural sector and in the Canadian economy.