Reuters — Canadian fertilizer maker Nutrien on Wednesday forecast lower-than-expected 2023 earnings and posted fourth-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates, sending shares down 2.6 per cent in extended trading. While higher fertilizer prices dented demand in early second-half of last year, a fall in prices later in the year did not boost demand as farmers […] Read more
Nutrien misses profit estimates amid higher fertilizer prices
CF Industries also books lower sales
Russia says sanctions a barrier to Black Sea grain deal renewal
Reuters — Russia said Monday it would be “inappropriate” to extend the Black Sea grain deal unless sanctions affecting its agricultural exports are lifted and other issues are resolved. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed by Russia and Ukraine last July, created a safe corridor to allow grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports blockaded […] Read more
The net-zero movement is unstoppable, but farmers will adapt
Reducing emissions is do-able; the key is persuading Ottawa to chart a sensible course, says farm leader
Reading Time: 4 minutes Keep calm, stay flexible and farm on. These were the main messages from a panel on greenhouse gas emissions at the recent CrossRoads conference. Canada, and every member of the G7 and 120 other nations, has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the manager of government and policy relations for the Grain Growers […] Read more
Search for the holy grail of N fertilizer continues
You can now buy nitrogen-fixing bacteria for your crops but when it comes to wheat, the jury is out
Reading Time: 5 minutes A real-world test of nitrogen-fixing bacteria conducted in Alberta was a bust when it came to boosting yields, but no one is throwing in the towel yet. “It’s too early to tell. You can’t base anything off one year worth of trial data,” said Erek Bishop, a participant in one of four trials of Utrisha […] Read more
Mosaic says stockpiles too high to restart Saskatchewan mine
Company expects Russia, Belarus 2023 potash exports at 2022 level
Winnipeg | Reuters — Fertilizer producer Mosaic Co. does not currently see the right market conditions to restart its idled Saskatchewan potash mine, with high inventories in the U.S. and Brazil and cold weather slowing trains from Canada, CEO Joc O’Rourke said Wednesday. Mosaic curtailed potash production in December at its Colonsay, Sask. mine, but […] Read more
Find the best bang for your fertilizer buck
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s wheat and barley commissions have a nitrogen rate of return calculator available on their website. The calculator, developed by well-known research agronomist Rigas Karamanos, “can be used to evaluate different net return per acre scenarios which compare different N sources and costs, various crop prices and soil test N levels,” Alberta Wheat and Barley […] Read more
Reduce NO2 emissions 30 per cent? No problem, says expert
Nitrification inhibitors and legumes are clear winners but split application not effective in much of Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes Achieving a 30 per cent reduction in nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizer shouldn’t be a tall order for a crop sector or even individual farms, says a leader in 4R nutrient management research. “Research across the Prairies has shown that it is possible to reduce emissions quite significantly without the need to drop the […] Read more
Cutting fertilizer emissions can be profitable if done sensibly
Report says farmers can boost the bottom line with 4R, but Ottawa’s goal is too much, too fast
Reading Time: 5 minutes [UPDATED: Jan. 17, 2023] Canadian crop producers can reduce emissions from nitrogen fertilizer by double digits and still turn a healthy profit, says a report prepared for the country’s leading fertilizer advocate. However, even that will still fall short of the federal government’s nitrous oxide emissions goals. “To put it in broad strokes, the crop […] Read more
Belarus to allow Ukraine grain transit with no preconditions, U.N. says
Belarus still wants sanctions lifted off fertilizer
United Nations | Reuters — Belarus told the United Nations on Friday that it would allow, without preconditions, the transit of grain from Ukraine through its territory for export from Lithuanian ports, a U.N. spokesman said. Belarus, used by its ally Russia as a staging ground for Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, said in […] Read more
Mosaic to throttle back Saskatchewan potash mine
Demand increasing, but 'slower than expected'
Demand for potash is coming back after “a year of reduced applications” — but not quickly enough that U.S. fertilizer giant Mosaic Co. plans to keep all its Saskatchewan mines running at their current pace. Florida-based Mosaic said Tuesday it has now “temporarily curtailed” production at its potash mine at Colonsay, about 65 km southeast […] Read more
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