A report from Agriculture Canada says the Canadian prairies will be one of the few regions of the world where crop yields will benefit from global warming.

The report says prairie crops like canola and wheat will benefit from improved water use efficiency with elevated carbon dioxide levels.

Global warming is also expected to boost growing season precipitation levels on the prairies by five percent.

Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips supports the report findings. “Temperatures that will be warmer and that will enable better productivity for some of the crops that we grow now. Some of the marginal crops that we grow now will flourish, they will be just fine with great thermal conditions for growing. We might even see some land expanding and areas opening up.”

The Agriculture Canada report says wheat yields could rise 23 percent and canola 13 percent.