Reading Time: 4 minutes It sounds like science fiction, but some day there may be a fertilizer that only activates once the plant tells it to. That’s an oversimplification, but it’s the premise behind a researcher’s prototype for a “smart” fertilizer which uses a unique chemical to “listen” to calls for nutrients from the plant roots. It’s an insight […] Read more
Imagine this: When the plant speaks, nutrients listen
Canadian researcher may have found a radically new way to fertilize crops
Industry and farm organizations fear fertilizer volume cuts
A made-in-Canada approach using 4R proposed as a means for meeting emissions targets
Reading Time: 4 minutes It was a dramatic claim — if Canadian farmers reduce their fertilizer use by the federal government’s proposed 30 per cent, they could lose $48 billion by 2030. It came last month in a release from Fertilizer Canada, which said that, that would be the loss if Canada followed the European model of cutting fertilizer […] Read more
Bayer sees farmers pre-buying inputs as supply-chain snarls continue
Chicago/Berlin | Reuters — U.S. farmers are pre-buying seeds and chemicals they need earlier than normal, in a bid to secure supplies for next spring amid sector-wide supply-chain problems, a top executive at German agricultural and pharmaceuticals firm Bayer said Tuesday. Bayer also estimates its average seed prices will go up about five per cent […] Read more
British milk sours amid labour crisis
London | Reuters — Some British dairy farmers have been forced to destroy tens of thousands of litres of milk due to rising costs, labour shortages and an acute deficit of truck drivers which has strained supply chains to breaking point, farmers said. A post-Brexit shortage of workers, exacerbated by the global strains of the […] Read more
Mandated cuts in fertilizer use could be costly for Canada, report warns
Fertilizer industry study, based on EU plan, points to yield losses for corn, canola, wheat
Straight-up cuts in fertilizer rates — if imposed to help Canada meet its targets for cuts in emissions by the end of this decade — could translate to significantly reduced income for farmers, an industry group warns. Fertilizer Canada, the group representing manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors for nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur, on Monday […] Read more
Mandated cuts in fertilizer use could be costly for Canada, report warns
Fertilizer industry study, based on EU plan, points to yield losses for corn, canola, wheat
Straight-up cuts in fertilizer rates — if imposed to help Canada meet its targets for cuts in emissions by the end of this decade — could translate to significantly reduced income for farmers, an industry group warns. Fertilizer Canada, the group representing manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors for nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur, on Monday […] Read more
‘Perfect storm’ causes fertilizer price spikes
'Most of us are in a "wait-and-see" position'
MarketsFarm — Fertilizer prices have increased over the past year, but could be headed even higher as a recent confluence of events has caused a shortage — the effects of which may affect producers past the New Year. “Particularly, in the last few weeks, there have been a number of supply events which have really […] Read more
Minnesota grain handler targeted in ransomware attack
Company instead issuing handwritten tickets for grain deliveries
Chicago | Reuters — Minnesota agricultural co-operative Crystal Valley said it had been targeted in a ransomware attack in recent days, making it the second Midwestern farm-services provider in a week to be forced to take systems offline due to cybersecurity incidents. Crystal Valley, which sells supplies like fertilizer to farmers and buys their crops, […] Read more
Britain tells its food industry to prepare for CO2 price shock
U.K. pays fertilizer maker CF Industries to reopen plants
London | Reuters — Britain warned its food producers on Wednesday to prepare for a 400 per cent rise in carbon dioxide prices after extending emergency state support to avert a shortage of poultry and meat triggered by soaring costs of wholesale natural gas. Natural gas prices have spiked this year as economies reopened from […] Read more
China to release potash reserves
Move said to be intended to ensure supply, stabilize prices
Beijing | Reuters –– China’s state planner on Wednesday said the government would take measures to keep supply and prices of fertilizers stable, including releasing potash fertilizer reserves and ensuring imports reach farmers as it looks to bolster food security. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it was one of 13 government departments […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
