FCL’s Co-op Fertilizer Terminal at Brandon. (Photo courtesy Federated Co-operatives Ltd.)

Canada can cut fertilizer emissions 14 per cent by 2030, industry groups say

Report touts use of 4R practices

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from applying nitrogen fertilizer by 14 per cent by 2030 through adoption of more sustainable farm practices and new technology, without any overall reduction in fertilizer use, agriculture industry groups said on Wednesday. Such reductions of nitrous oxide from 2020 levels would fall well […] Read more

File photo of a docked grain vessel at a Black Sea port in Turkey. (Bfk92/E+/Getty Images)

U.N., Moscow discuss Russian grain, fertilizer exports

Grain not getting to poorer countries, Putin alleges

United Nations | Reuters — Senior U.N. and Russian officials met in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss Russian complaints that Western sanctions were impeding its grain and fertilizer exports despite a U.N.-brokered deal to boost Russian and Ukrainian shipments of the commodities. The United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia agreed on July 22 on what […] Read more


Studies in Ontario and Quebec have found ESN has little effect on emissions but the Canola Council of Canada
says the government should take into account that conditions on the Prairies are different.

Feds exclude ESN from program offering emission reduction incentives

Polymer-coated fertilizer has been shown to reduce nitrous oxide emissions on the Prairies

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canola Council of Canada says ESN has been scratched from the list of incentives being offered to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer in the federal government’s On-Farm Climate Action Fund. First put forward in the 2021 budget and expanded in the 2022 budget, the fund’s aim is to help farmers implement immediate on-farm […] Read more

Mark Redmond says RDAR can help guide farmers through the OFCAF application.

Make environmental changes on your farm, but without the risk

OFCAF will cover up to 85 per cent of costs such as nitrogen management, rotational grazing and cover cropping

Reading Time: 3 minutes Producer applications are open for the On-farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF), a program that will offset a large portion of costs as farmers try a new management practice such as rotational grazing, cover cropping or nitrogen management. “This is a program that will deliver directly to the farm gate, so farmers will receive a direct […] Read more


On dairy farms, methane from cattle is a big part of their carbon footprint, but researchers say diet can control emissions at least somewhat.

Dairy’s gap in the map toward net zero

Canadian dairy has a carbon emissions goal but is still hammering out the way to get there

Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has a goal to reach net zero on carbon emissions but admits the plan to get there doesn’t exist. Not yet, at least. “It kind of reminds me of JFK saying, ‘By 1969, we’ll have a man on the moon’ and they hadn’t invented rockets yet,” […] Read more

An excerpt from a federal policy discussion paper released in May 2022: “Given the essential role of nitrogen fertilizer in Canadian agriculture, actions to achieve emissions reductions will focus on improving nitrogen management and optimizing fertilizer use, and not on a mandatory reduction in the use of fertilizers.”

Comment: Cutting fertilizer emissions and cutting fertilizer use aren’t the same thing

Critics sow needless concern about federal plans, which are based on policies the industry has been promoting

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Farmers came away from the recent federal, provincial and territorial ministers meeting in Saskatoon with a few items stroked off their wish list. Farm organizations welcomed a $500-million or 25 per cent increase in cost-shared funding over five years, half of which will help farmers fight climate change and reduce emissions. The […] Read more


“Treat it like you would your grain crop.” – Ken Wall, Federated Co-operatives.

Grain farmers should think about forage

Adding perennial forages to annual crop rotations can pay big dividends in more than just the bank account

Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Grain farmers can harvest a heap of benefits by cycling perennial forages through rotations, says an agronomist with Federated Co-operatives Ltd. Ken Wall said the economics of growing forage as a cash crop have changed significantly in recent years due to market conditions and a sharp increase in the price of fuel. […] Read more

(Glacier FarmMedia staff photo)

Quebec’s UPA hit by ransomware attack

Farm organization, affiliate bodies affected

Quebec’s overarching farmer organization, l’Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), has confirmed its computer systems were hit by a ransomware attack earlier this month. UPA, in a release last Thursday, said it’s working with a cybersecurity firm to analyze the nature and scope of the attack, as well as any possible solutions to securely restore its […] Read more


Nutrien’s head office building in Saskatoon. (Liam O’Connor photo)

Nutrien’s interim CEO named CEO

Seitz sees 'a lot of uncertainty' continuing in market

Reuters — Canada’s Nutrien Ltd., the world’s largest potash fertilizer producer, named Ken Seitz as chief executive on Monday, removing the interim tag. Nutrien in January surprised investors by replacing its CEO for the second time in eight months. It then named Seitz, the head of its potash business, as interim CEO, replacing Mayo Schmidt. […] Read more

Mosaic’s mine shaft tower from its K3 facility in southern Sask. Photo: Greg Berg

Mosaic sees fertilizer demand supported by tight crop supplies into 2023

Reuters – Mosaic Co MOS.N said on Monday it expects tight grain and oilseed markets into 2023, encouraging the continued use of fertilizers despite their surging costs. “The war in Ukraine, high temperatures in North America and Europe, and developing drought conditions in parts of South America highlight the risk for reduced yields globally,” Mosaic said. […] Read more