The Unexpected Upside of Canada’s Wildfires

Colin Penner, who farms about 3,700 acres an hour's drive north of the U.S. border, crunched up a handful of plump canola pods and blew the chaff into a stiff prairie breeze. A small pile of tiny black seeds remained in his palm.

Last summer, high heat and harsh sun scorched canola's yellow flowers and ruined their pollen, knocking down yields across Western Canada. This summer, smoke from nearby wildfires shrouded the July skies and protected Penner's young crop from the sun's burning rays, resulting in more seeds per pod and more pods per plant.

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"Look at all these pods," he said. He would wait to see what the harvest brings, but "smoke will likely be a positive thing."

Protection from extreme heat

As Canada's western provinces experience the second-worst wildfire season in decades, driven by hotter and drier conditions due to climate change, some canola farmers say they are seeing an unexpected benefit to the hazy summer skies - so long as they occur in July, when the crop is flowering.

The smoke is shielding the delicate flower petals and pollen of canola plants from intense heat and sunlight, mitigating the impacts of a drought which continued through most of this summer.

The finding contrasts with scientists' understanding that extended periods of heavy smoke have largely negative impacts on crop yields and food quality.

Reuters spoke to dozens of farmers and 10 crop experts who said the smoky skies of midsummer had mainly positive impacts for canola - although the experts cautioned that more research is needed.

Bruce Burnett, a crop analyst with the Western Producer Markets Desk trade publication, told Reuters that the smoke's cooling effects countered high daytime and nighttime temperatures, which can hurt the crop when it's flowering.